Hypolipidemic effects of dietary 7-oxo-24,25-dihydrolanosterol

7-Oxo-24,25-dihydrolanosterol (7-oxo-DHL), an inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis from lanosterol in vitro, lowered the serum total-cholesterol and triglyceride at a level of 0.1% in a diet on male Wistar rats. This effect was slightly lower than that of clofibrate (CF) which was examined as a reference. Further, the reduction in serum total-cholesterol levels were associated with a slight reduction in the levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, resulting in a decrease in the atherogenic index. The rate of decrease of liver total-cholesterol by 7-oxo-DHL was higher than that of CF soon after taking off the diet. Although CF produced a marked increase of liver size, no significant increase was observed in the rats fed with 7-oxo-DHL. The effects of 7-oxo-DHL in the rats fed with 3% cholesterol in a diet were examined and compared with that of control. These results strongly suggest that 7-oxo-DHL is considerably hypolipidemic in rats.