EFFECT OF DIHYDROQUERCETIN ON HYPERCHOLESTERINEMIA

The article is devoted to the study of the natural flavonoid dihydroquercetin (0.0125 g per 1 kg of animal weight in daily diet) effect on the development of experimental hypercholesterolemia in rabbits “Chinchilla”. Dihydroquercetin was obtained by extraction with ethyl acetate from crushed Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb., 1833) wood chips with several cycles of subsequent recrystallization from water (purity 90–92%). Hypercholesterolemia was induced by an atherogenic diet: 0.35 g of cholesterol in the diet per 1 kg of animal weight. The duration of the experiment was two months. It was shown that the introduction of dihydroquercetin into the daily diet of rabbits with alimentary hypercholesterolemia does not significantly affect the level of total cholesterol, as well as the concentration of its atherogenic fractions of LDL and VLDL in the blood. Nevertheless, it was found that, in comparison with the model of hypercholesterolemia, this natural compound contributes to the maintenance of an increased concentration of HDL cholesterol, which has an antiatherogenic effect. Accordingly, this reduces the value of the blood atherogenic coefficient, which reflects the degree of risk of atherosclerosis. In general, the data obtained predetermines the need for further research using various approaches to modeling hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in experimental animals.