Effects of herbal tea (Platostoma palustre) on the Hyperlipidemia in vivo

Platostoma palustre jelly is a traditional food. Platostoma palustre has been used as folk medicine and is effective against heat-shock, hypertension and diabetes. Therefore, the aim of in vivo study was to determine the effects of herbal tea (Platostoma palustre) on blood lipid regulation. The commercial herbal tea (Platostoma palustre) was kindly provided by Yueta Agricultural Biotechnology Inc. Adult male 18 Syrian hamsters (outbred stock) [5 weeks old; body weight (BW) between 90-100 g] with specific pathogen-free conditions were used in this study. In this experiment, all Syrian hamsters (n = 18) were divided respectively the normal control group (n = 6), the negative control group (n = 6), and the herbal tea group (n = 6). The high-fat feed (containing 0.2% cholesterol) was used to feed Syrian hamsters for 8 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia in the negative control group and the herbal tea group. In the herbal tea group, the herbal tea (10 mL/kg BW) was administrated to Syrian hamsters by gavage. Blood were collected before hyperlipidemia was induced (D0) and blood was collected after hyperlipidemia was induced (D28 and D56). The BW of Syrian hamsters were weighed weekly. The TG (triglyceride), TCHO (total cholesterol), HDL (high-density lipoprotein), and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) contents in blood were detected and analyzed at each experimental time point. In addition, at the end of the experiment, the liver tissue was dissected out for analysis of CHO (cholesterol) and TG contents. The results were shown that the average BW of the Syrian hamsters in the negative control group was significantly higher than that of the Syrian hamsters in the normal control group during hyperlipidemia induction (W5-W8). The BW of the herbal tea group was slightly higher than that of the normal control group after hyperlipidemia induction. However, there was no significant difference between the negative group and the herbal tea group each week of the experiment. The TG level of Syrian hamsters in the negative control group was significantly higher than that of Syrian hamsters in the normal control group at the 8th weeks-experiment. The TG level of Syrian hamsters in the herbal tea group was between the negative control group and the normal control group and there were no significant differences between two groups (the herbal tea group and the negative control group). The TCHO levels in blood of Syrian hamsters in the negative control group and the herbal tea group were both significantly higher than that of the normal control group at the 4th week- and 8th week-experiment. At the 4th and 8th weeks-experiment, the TCHO of the herbal tea group was slightly lower than that of the negative control group after hyperlipidemia induction. The TCHO levels in blood of Syrian hamsters in the herbal tea group and the negative control group had no significant difference. At the experiment (W4 and W8), the HDL cholesterol level in blood of Syrian hamsters in the negative control and the herbal tea group were significantly higher than that in the normal control group. The HDL cholesterol level in blood of the herbal tea group was slightly higher than that of the negative control group after hyperlipidemia induction (W4 and W8). At the experiment (W4 and W8), the HDL cholesterol level in blood of the negative control group and the herbal tea group were significantly higher than that of the normal control group. There was no significant difference between the herbal tea group and the negative control group. Additionally, the LDL cholesterol level in blood of the herbal tea group was significantly lower than that of the negative control group after hyperlipidemia induction (W4 and W8). At the experiment (W4 and W8), the ratio of HDL cholesterol level /LDL cholesterol level in blood of the negative control group were significantly lower than that of the normal control group. The ratio of HDL cholesterol level /LDL cholesterol level in blood of the herbal tea group was higher than that of the negative control group after hyperlipidemia induction (W4 and W8). However, there was no significant difference between the herbal tea group and the normal control group. At the end of experiment (W8), the TG and CHO levels in liver tissues of the negative control group and the herbal tea group were significantly higher than that of the normal control group. The TG and CHO contents in liver tissues of the herbal tea group was lower than that of the negative control group at the end of experiment (W8). However, there was no significant difference between the herbal tea group and the negative control group. Taken all in vivo results together, the hyperlipidemia was successfully induced in the experimental Syrian hamsters. After administrating with the herbal tea, the blood and liver lipid levels of the Syrian hamsters tended to improve. Therefore, based on the results of this experiment, it is speculated that drinking the herbal tea for 2 months has considerable potential for blood lipid regulation, which can be used as the basis for the development of related products of the herbal tea in the future.