Beneficial effects of mangiferin on hyperlipidemia in high-fat-fed hamsters

Scope : Mangiferin, a natural polyphenol, has been shown to have hypolipidemic effect in rat and mouse. However, the mechanism of action is not well understood. This study was conducted to determine the effect and mechanism of action of mangiferin on hyperlipidemia induced in hamsters by a high‐fat diet. Methods and results: Forty male hamsters were randomly assigned to normal control, high‐fat control, and high fat with mangiferin (50 and 150 mg/kg BW) groups. Mangiferin treatment significantly decreased final body weight, liver weight and visceral fat‐pad weight, serum triglyceride (TG) and total free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations, hepatic TG levels and hepatic and muscle total FFA contents. Mangiferin upregulated mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐α (PPAR‐α), fatty acid translocase (CD36) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT‐1), but downregulated mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element‐binding protein 1c (SREBP‐1c), acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC), acyl‐CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT‐2) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) in liver. Mangiferin also stimulated mRNA expression of PPAR‐α, CD36, CPT‐1 and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in muscle. Conclusions : The results suggest that mangiferin may ameliorate hypertriglyceridemia partly by modulating the expression levels of genes involved in lipid oxidation and lipogenesis.