Effects of the herbal medicine goshajinkigan on sucrose-rich diet-induced hypertriglyceridemia in rats

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of an herbal medicine, goshajinkigan (GJ), on the regulation of triglyceride levels in rats fed a sucrose-rich diet (SRD). Normal Wistar rats were fed a SRD (80.3% energy from carbohydrates, 13.4% from proteins, and 6.4% from lipids) for 10 weeks; the rats had free access to the SRD containing 1% powdered extract of GJ. The control rats were fed a standard diet (60.5% energy from carbohydrates, 26.2% from proteins, and 13.3% from lipids). Nonfasting plasma glucose levels and the results of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were normal for the SRD-fed rats. In comparison with the control rats, the SRD-fed rats showed a significant increase in their plasma triglyceride levels at 6, 8, and 10 weeks. GJ treatment significantly reduced the elevated plasma triglyceride levels. These results suggest that GJ may have the potential to alleviate hypertriglyceridemia in subjects with the long-term consumption by high sucrose diet.