Hypolipidemic and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Rosae Laevigatae Fructus in rats

Two major fractions (RLP-1 and RLP-2) were obtained by purifying the crude polysaccharides extracted from a traditional Chinese herb Rosae Laevigatae Fructus. The average molecular weight of RLP-1 and RLP-2 was 21.5 kDa and 16.1 kDa, respectively. Monosaccharide analysis indicated that RLP-1 was composed of xylose, mannose and galactose in the molar ratio of 1:11:8, while RLP-2 was only a glucan. Oral administration of RLP-1 could significantly decrease levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), inhibit hepatic lipid accumulation, increase antioxidant lipids and up-regulate expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in hyperlipidemia rats. These results suggest that RLP-1 improve hyperlipidemia possibly through regulating PPAR-mediated lipid metabolism. Therefore, could be explored as a possible agent for hyperlipidemia.