Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(1), 67-78; doi:10.3390/ijms11010067
Article

Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Root and Leaf on Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Ung-Kyu Choi 1 email, Ok-Hwan Lee 2,* email, Joo Hyuk Yim 3 email, Chang-Won Cho 3 email, Young Kyung Rhee 3 email, Seong-Il Lim 3 email and Young-Chan Kim 3,* email
1 Pohang Center for Evaluation of Biomaterials, Pohang 790-834, Korea 2 Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, Seongnam, Kyonggi, 463-836, Korea 3 Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, Kyonggi, 463-746, Korea
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 December 2009 / Accepted: 30 December 2009 / Published: 6 January 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Compounds for the Treatment and Prevention of Metabolic Diseases)
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Abstract: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), an oriental herbal medicine, has been shown to favorably affect choleretic, antirheumatic and diuretin properties. Recent reports have indicated that excessive oxidative stress contributes to the development of atherosclerosislinked metabolic syndrome. The objective of this current study was to investigate the possible hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects of dandelion root and leaf in rabbits fed with a high-cholesterol diet. A group of twenty eight male rabbits was divided into four subgroups; a normal diet group, a high-cholesterol diet group, a high-cholesterol diet with 1% (w/w) dandelion leaf group, and a high-cholesterol diet with 1% (w/w) dandelion root group. After the treatment period, the plasma antioxidant enzymes and lipid profiles were determined. Our results show that treatment with dandelion root and leaf positively changed plasma antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid profiles in cholesterol-fed rabbits, and thus may have potential hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects. Dandelion root and leaf could protect against oxidative stress linked atherosclerosis and decrease the atherogenic index.
Keywords: dandelion; Taraxacum officinale; atherosclerosis; antioxidant activity; hypolipidemic effects

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Choi, U.-K.; Lee, O.-H.; Yim, J.H.; Cho, C.-W.; Rhee, Y.K.; Lim, S.-I.; Kim, Y.-C. Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Root and Leaf on Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11, 67-78.

AMA Style

Choi U-K, Lee O-H, Yim JH, Cho C-W, Rhee YK, Lim S-I, Kim Y-C. Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Root and Leaf on Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2010; 11(1):67-78.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Choi, Ung-Kyu; Lee, Ok-Hwan; Yim, Joo Hyuk; Cho, Chang-Won; Rhee, Young Kyung; Lim, Seong-Il; Kim, Young-Chan. 2010. "Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Root and Leaf on Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 11, no. 1: 67-78.

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