ABSTRACT
Camellia oleifera Abel. [C. oleosa (Lour.) Rehd.], an evergreen plant, is used for healthful oil production, but the shells are always discarded and need to be utilized. The present study was undertaken to explore the effect of extracts from the shells of C. oleifera on adjusting cardiovascular system. A flavonoid was obtained by reflux extraction of the shells in 70% methanol, hydrolysis in 2 M hydrochloric acid, and crystallization in acetone. Its structure was identified as a novel biflavonoid. Mice model of hyperlipidemia was setup by high fat diet for 30 d to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of the biflavonoid at dose of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/d (ig). Antioxidative activity was determined by levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in mice serum. The biflavonoid significantly controlled mice weight and liver coefficient, decreased the content of total cholesterol and triglyceride, promoted the level of high density lipoprotein in a dose dependent manner. The significant decrease of MDA content and increase of SOD and GSH-Px activity indicated it enhanced antioxidative capacity in vivo and was ascribed to hypolipidemic effect. The biflavonoid is useful in the prevention of high fat diet induced hyperlipidemia.