• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.784-790
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• 2014

Housefly (Musca domestica L.) maggots are used as biomedical material. Ethanolic extracts of fly maggot (EM) were orally administered to male rats at levels of 0 (control group), 4.0, 6.0, and 8.0 mg per 100 g live weight for 40 days. Serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL-C decreased by 17.90, 17.60, and 16.37%, respectively, whereas HDL-C increased by 20.48% in the EM group compared with these parameters in a control group (p<0.05). Thymus and spleen weights dose-dependently increased by 21.42% and 21.42%, respectively, but abdominal fat decreased by 39.66% after EM administration compared with that in the control group (p<0.05). IgG, IgA, and IgM increased 35.14, 68.65, and 190.16%, respectively, in the EM groups compared to the control group (p<0.05). Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus increased by 41.68% and 35.55%, respectively, in the EM groups compared with the control group, and Bacteroides, Clostridium, Escherichia, and Streptococcus decreased by 24.96, 46.37, 25.00, and 34.05%, respectively, in the EM groups compared with the control group (p<0.05). Compared with the control group, total organic acids, acetic acid, and propionic acid increased by 31.11, 49.34, and 24.88%, whereas butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid decreased by 30.79, 72.64, 32.90, and 63.16% respectively, in the EM groups (p<0.05). These results suggest that EM has a bifidogenic effect on immune cell development, blood lipid levels, and abdominal fat reduction by increasing the production of organic acid and numbers of cecal microorganisms in animals.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.101-112
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological mechanism of orally administered ethanolic extract of fly maggot(EM) on hypocholesterolemic rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. Sprague Dawley male rats were divided into four groups (EM dose control=0, 5.0, 7.0, and 9.0 mg/100 g BW) and were treated for 6 weeks. EM groups revealed a significant reduction in serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and LDL-C when compared with the control group(p<0.05). HMG-CoA reductase activity in EM groups were lower than those of the control group, but total sterol, neutral sterol, and bile acid excretion were increased in EM groups when compared with the control group(p<0.05). To identify the biological mechanism of EM towards the hypocholesterolemic effect, sterol response element binding proteins (SREBPs) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors ($PPAR{\alpha}$ transcription system were determined in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. It was discovered that EM suppress the expression of SREBP-$1{\alpha}$ and SREBP-2 mRNA in the liver tissues of high-cholesterol diet fed rats, while simultaneously increasing the expression of $PPAR{\alpha}$ mRNA(p<0.05). This finding indicates that EM may have hypocholesterolemic effects in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet, by regulating cholesterol metabolism-related biochemical parameters and SREBP-$1{\alpha}$ SREPB-2 and $PPAR{\alpha}$gene expression.