• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.397-401
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• 2013

The Galkun-Whanglyeon-Whanggum-Tang, an officially standardized mixture of traditional herbal medicines used in Korea and China, consists of Pueraria lobata, Scullellaria baicalensis, Coptis chinensis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis at a ratio of 6:9:3:2.4. In this study, we evaluated the effect of lowering lipid accumulation in blood by treatment of Galkun-Whanglyeon-Whanggum-Tang in Apo E(-/-) atherosclerotic animal model. ApoE/mice fed with 1.25% cholesterol, 7.5% cocoa butter and 0.5% sodium cholate diet were orally given vehicle or Galkun-Whanglyeon-Whanggum-Tang(10, 100 and 300 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks. Serum levels of triglyceride(TG), total cholestrerol(TC), low-density lipoprotein(LDL) and high-density lipoprotein(HDL) were analyzed, and PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$ were examined by Western blotting analysis. Galkun-Whanglyeon- Whanggum-Tang decreased serum levels of TG, TC and LDL, but not HDL in ApoE/mice. In parallel, Galkun-Whanglyeon-Whanggum-Tang treatment showed the increased activity of PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$ in hepatocytes. In summary, Galkun-Whanglyeon-Whanggum-Tang can reduce lipid accumulation in blood, and this effect might be accompanied by the upregulation of PPAR-${\alpha}$ and PPAR-${\gamma}$ in Apo E(-/-) atherosclerotic mouse model.