the effects of cinnamomum zeylanicum on lipid profiles and histology via up-regulation of ldl receptor gene expression in hamsters fed a high cholesterol diet

background: recently, medicinal plants have become the focus of more attention due to their potentially effective roles in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. objectives: the aim of this research was to examine the effects of cinnamomum zeylanicum (cz) on lipid profile and histological changes due to ldl receptor (ldl-r) gene expression in hamsters fed a high cholesterol diet. methods: thirty-two male hamsters were allocated into four groups (eight in each group under four weeks of treatment) as follows: group nd were fed a standard normal diet; group hcd were fed a normal diet supplemented with high cholesterol; group hcd + cz2 were fed a high cholesterol diet (hcd) along with 2% cz; and group hcd + cz8 were fed an hcd diet along with 8% cz. after the treatment process, blood samples were taken from all of studied animals, and sera were prepared for lipid profile assays. liver ldl-r gene expression was assayed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method. liver histological changes were determined using the hematoxylin and eosin staining method. results: a significant reduction was observed in serum triglycerides (tg), total cholesterol (tc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (vldl-c), aspartate transaminase (ast), and alanine transaminase (alt) levels in the hcd + cz8 group, while serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (hdl-c) levels increased when compared with the hcd group (p 0.001). the hcd group demonstrated decreased ldl-r gene expression in the animals’ livers, whereas treatment with cz upregulated its expression. the scores for hepatic steatosis in the hcd + cz8 group were diminished significantly. conclusions: the administration of cz improved dyslipidemia in hypercholesterolemic animals, probably by increasing ldl-r gene expression in the liver; consequently, it can be concluded that cz can reverse hepatic steatosis. therefore, cz was determined as having a protective role against hypercholesterolemia.