Cholesterol lowering effect of SG-GN3, the extract of salted and fermented small shrimps, Acetes japonicus, in Triton WR-1339 or high cholesterol-diet induced hypercholesterolemic rats.

The cholesterol lowering effect of SG-GN3, the extract of salted and fermented small shrimps, Acetes japonicus, was investigated in hypercholesterolemic animal models. Hypercholesterolemia was induced with Triton WR-1339 (nonionic detergent) or high cholesterol (HC)-diet. SG-GN3 significantly decreased total cholesterol (TC) in Triton WR-1339 model at 30 post-treatment hour (549.80 +/- 152.46 mg/dl) compared to the control which induced by only Triton WR-1339 (798.84 +/- 94.98 mg/dl), whereas high-density lipoprotein (HDL) content did not decrease (P < 0.05). In HC-diet model, TC content significantly decreased by SG-GN3 treatment at 3 post-treatment day (P < 0.05). These results suggest that SG-GN3 effectively decreased serum TC level in hypercholesterolemic animal models.