Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 15, 2026
Differential Effects of Lipid-lowering Drugs in Modulating Morphology of Cholesterol Particles
Published on: November 10, 2017
Hypolipidemic activities of xanthorrhizol purified from centrifugal TLC
Seok Fang Oon1, Meenakshii Nallappan1, Nur Kartinee Kassim2
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Insights
Xanthorrhizol (XNT) shows potential as a natural hypolipidemic agent. This study found XNT inhibits cholesterol uptake in colon cells and reduces adipogenesis in fat cells, suggesting a role in improving cardiovascular health.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Natural Products
Background:
- Hyperlipidemia, characterized by high triglyceride or cholesterol levels, is a risk factor for atherosclerosis.
- Current hypolipidemic drugs have limitations in effectiveness and safety.
- Xanthorrhizol (XNT) from Curcuma xanthorrhizza Roxb. has shown potential in reducing free fatty acids and triglycerides in vivo.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of XNT on cholesterol uptake in HT29 colon cells.
- To evaluate the impact of XNT on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells.
- To determine the potential of XNT as a novel hypolipidemic agent.
Main Methods:
- Purification of XNT using centrifugal thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to achieve 98.3% purity.
- Assessment of XNT's inhibitory effects on cholesterol uptake in HT29 cells using a fluorescent cholesterol analogue.
- Evaluation of XNT's impact on 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation.
Main Results:
- XNT significantly inhibited fluorescent cholesterol analogue (NBD) uptake in HT29 cells by 27% at 15 μg/mL.
- XNT suppressed 3T3-L1 adipocyte growth by 5.9% at 50 μg/mL compared to preadipocytes (81.31%).
- XNT impeded adipogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, reducing lipid accumulation by 36.13% at 12.5 μg/mL.
Conclusions:
- XNT demonstrates significant potential as a hypolipidemic agent by inhibiting cholesterol uptake and adipogenesis.
- The findings suggest XNT could be a valuable natural compound for improving cardiovascular health.
- Further research into XNT's mechanisms and therapeutic applications is warranted.
Abstract:
Hyperlipidemia is defined as the presence of either hypertriglyceridemia or hypercholesterolemia, which could cause atherosclerosis. Although hyperlipidemia can be treated by hypolipidemic drugs, they are limited due to lack of effectiveness and safety. Previous studies demonstrated that xanthorrhizol (XNT) isolated from Curcuma xanthorrhizza Roxb. reduced the levels of free fatty acid and triglyceride in vivo. However, its ability to inhibit cholesterol uptake in HT29 colon cells and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells are yet to be reported. In this study, XNT purified from centrifugal TLC demonstrated 98.3% purity, indicating it could be an alternative purification method. The IC50 values of XNT were 30.81 ± 0.78 μg/mL in HT29 cells and 35.07 ± 0.24 μg/mL in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, respectively. Cholesterol uptake inhibition study using HT29 colon cells showed that XNT (15 μg/mL) significantly inhibited the fluorescent cholesterol analogue NBD uptake by up to 27 ± 3.1% relative to control. On the other hand, higher concentration of XNT (50 μg/mL) significantly suppressed the growth of 3T3-L1 adipocytes (5.9 ± 0.58%) compared to 3T3-L1 preadipocytes (81.31 ± 0.55%). XNT was found to impede adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner from 3.125 to 12.5 μg/mL, where 12.5 μg/mL significantly suppressed 36.13 ± 2.1% of lipid accumulation. We postulate that inhibition of cholesterol uptake, adipogenesis, preadipocyte and adipocyte number may be utilized as treatment modalities to reduce the prevalence of lipidemia. To conclude, XNT could be a potential hypolipidemic agent to improve cardiovascular health in the future.
