Abstract: The aim of the present study was to observe the effect of flavonoids from Sonchus oleraceus L. (FSOL) on blood lipid metabolism and to further evaluate the hepatoprotective efficacy in hyperlipidemic mice. Sixty male ICR mice were randomly and equally divided into six groups: normal control group, high fat model group, positive control group (simvastatin, 10 mg/kg), and low-, middle- and high-dose FSOL (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) groups. The mice in the normal control group were fed a basic diet, while those in the other groups were fed a high-fat diet. After 5 weeks of feeding, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and liver TC, TG, MDA and SOD were determined, and morphological changes in the liver of mice were observed. The results showed that FSOL could inhibit body mass gain in high-fat diet-fed mice, and reduce serum TC, TG, LDL-C, ALT, AST and MDA and atherosclerosis index (AI) levels as well as hepatic TC, TG and MDA and liver index. In addition, it could increase the levels of HDL-C and SOD to varying degrees. These findings indicated that FSOL has potent hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects in hyperlipidemic mice, and the underlying mechanism may be related to the improvement of liver lipid metabolism and the enhancement of antioxidant function. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of FSOL.

Key words: flavonoids from Sonchus oleraceus L., hyperlipidemic, blood lipid metabolism, hepatoprotective efficacy