Abstract
Elevated plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level is a risk factor for developing atherosclerosis. Increased LDL receptor (LDLR) expression is expected to reduce the risk of atherosclerotic disease since hepatic LDLR is essential for clearing plasma LDL cholesterol. Here, we screened human LDLR promoter effectors and observed that extracts from peduncles of sweet cherry (Prunus avium) 'Sato-Nishiki' induce LDLR gene promoter activity. We used several analytical and chemical methods to show that chrysin 7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (chrysin-7G) is one of the compounds that stimulate LDLR gene promoter activity in cherry peduncle extracts. Furthermore, synthetic chrysin-7G increased the expression and activity of LDLR. The chrysin-7G-mediated increase in LDLR expression and activity was completely abolished by treatment with an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor, compound C. These results indicate that chrysin-7G increases LDLR expression through AMPK activation and may be a useful compound that can be recycled from waste parts of agricultural products.