Effects of Shenlingbaizhu Pills on lowering blood cholesterol and regulating gut microbiota / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effect of Shenlingbaizhu Pills on hyperlipidemia and gut microbiota in guinea pigs, providing data support for the treatment of hyperlipidemia from the " spleen" . Methods Guinea pigs were randomly divided into control group, model group, ezetimibe group, Shenlingbaizhu Pills high and low dose groups, with 12 guinea pigs for each group. Guinea pig models of hyperlipidemia were established with high fat diet for 8 weeks. Oral administration of the drug began at the fifth week and continued for 4 weeks. The serum lipid levels of guinea pigs were determined after final administration. The pathological changes of liver tissue were observed by HE staining. The mRNA expression levels of ATP binding cassette ( ABC ) A1 in liver, Niemann Pick C1 like 1 ( NPC1L1) and ABCG5/8 in small intestine were detected by realtime PCR. 16S rDNA sequencing was used to detect changes of gut microbiotas in guinea pigs. Results Shenlingbaizhu Pills significantly reduced the serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in guinea pigs with hyperlipidemia ( P＜0. 01 or P＜0.05). The pathological degree of fatty liver was improved obviously by Shenlingbaizhu Pills. Shenlingbaizhu Pills could reduce the mRNA expression level of NPC1L1 of small intestine and increase the level of liver ABCA1 and small intestine ABCG5/8 (P＜0.01 or P＜0.05). At the phylum level, Shenlingbaizhu Pills could reduce the proportion of verrucomicrobia of guinea pigs in model group (P＜0.01); At the genus level, Shenlingbaizhu Pills could increase the proportions of erysipelotrichaceae＿unclassified, ruminococcus＿1, and ileibacterium of guinea pigs in model group (P＜0. 01 or P＜0. 05 ), reduce the proportion of akkermansia and eubacterium＿coprostanoligenes＿group ( P＜0.01). Conclusion Shenlingbaizhu Pills had significantly therapeutic effect on hyperlipidemia, and its specific mechanism was related to the regulation of cholesterol transport and intestinal flora.