Influence of bamboo oil supplementation on blood lipid concentration in serum

The inhibitory activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase and the influence of cholesterol reduction were studied to investigate the effects of bamboo oil on lipid metabolism. The inhibitory activity of HMG-CoA reductase using Phyllostachys bambusoides oil was the highest among the various bamboo oils tested. The inhibition rate of HMG-CoA reductase increased from 7.3 to 89.9% when P. bambusoides oil concentration was increased from 10 to 90 μL/mL. However, when over 110 μL/mL of bamboo oil was used, it was not increased. The total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in blood decreased with the increase of bamboo oil concentration. Especially, when bamboo oil concentration increased from 2.0 to 8.0%, the total cholesterol concentration decreased from 139.6 to 80.4 mg/dL, which was a decrease of about 45% compared to the control. However, the phospholipid concentration was an increase of about 30% compared to the control. HDL cholesterol concentration increased with the increase of bamboo oil concentration. In particular, when bamboo oil increased from 2 to 8.0%, it was increased from 25.7 to 40.2%, which was an increase of about 89% compared to the control. These results suggest that bamboo oil is very effective at improving lipid metabolism and preventing hypercholesterolemia in high-cholesterol-fed rats.