Hypocholesterolemic Effects of Nutraceuticals Produced from the Red Microalga Porphyridium sp in Rats

Nutrients

Irit Dvir²  Aliza Hannah Stark¹  Reuven Chayoth²  Zecharia Madar¹ 

[1] The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel;Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel;

关键词: red microalgae;    nutraceuticals;    hypocholesterolemic agents;    dietary fiber;    foodomics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu1020156

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Red microalgae contain functional sulfated polysaccharides (containing dietary fibers), polyunsaturated fatty acids, zeaxanthin, vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Studies in rat models support the therapeutic properties of algal biomass and isolated polysaccharides. Algal products incorporated into rat diets were found to significantly improve total serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, hepatic cholesterol levels, HDL/LDL ratios and increased fecal excretion of neutral sterols and bile acids. Morphological and metabolic changes were induced by consumption of algal products. These results suggest that red microalgae can be used as potent hypocholesterolemic agents, and they support the potential use of red microalgae as novel nutraceuticals.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.