Abstract
Japanese mugwort (yomogi, Artemisia princeps Pampan) has traditionally been used as a food or medicinal plant. In this study, we prepared yomogi extract to investigate its effect on lipid metabolism in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) fed a cholesterol diet. The experimental diet was prepared by adding 0.3% yomogi extract to the control diet. Seven-week-old male SHRSP were fed the control or experimental diet for 35 days. In serum lipids, triglyceride concentration was significantly decreased in the experimental group, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in triglyceride content in the VLDL and LDL fractions. In addition, apoA-I was significantly increased, whereas apoB was significantly decreased in the experimental group. In the liver, there was no significant difference in the lipid content. In conclusion, ingestion of yomogi extract produces a hypolipidemic effect, which may be due to a decrease in hepatic secretion and/or synthesis of VLDL in SHRSP fed a cholesterol diet.
