Abstract
Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that hypercholesterolemia is associated with an elevated risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. In addition to the available cholesterol-lowering drugs, nutritionally balanced diets containing functional foods have attracted much interest as potential candidates to improve hypercholesterolemia. In the study, we demonstrated that dietary succinoglycan riclin effectively alleviated diet-induced hypercholesterolemia. Compared with the high-cholesterol-diet (HCD) group, the high-riclin group significantly decreased levels of the serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and hepatic cholesterol (34, 40, and 51%, respectively), consequently improving hepatic steatosis and reducing proinflammatory cytokine expressions. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based lipidomics and metabolomics analyses revealed that the riclin group partially reversed metabolic profile changes induced by the HCD, approaching that of the normal diet (ND) group. Riclin has no direct effects on cholesterol metabolism-related gene expression among the three HCD model groups. Basically, riclin increased the solution viscosity and interfered in the process of bile acid-cholesterol emulsification, decreasing cholesterol digestion and promoting cholesterol and bile acid excretion in the feces. These results suggested potential therapeutic utility of succinoglycan riclin as a food additive for people suffering from hypercholesterolemia and related diseases.