Effect of ginseng saponins on cholesterol metabolism. iII. effect of ginsenoside Rb1 on cholesterol synthesis in rats fed on high fat diet

Rats fed on high-fat diet showed a higher level of cholesterol in liver and a lower incorporation of 14C-acetate into liver cholesterol. The activity of HMG-CoA reductase, which is a key enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, was repressed in those rats. Ginsenoside-Rb1 purified from Ginseng (the root of Panax ginseng C.A. MEYER) has been found to reverse such effect of high-fat diet when administered on earlier days of feeding.