Abstract: AIM: To investigate the regulatory effect of puerarin on lipid profile in diet-induced hypercholester-olemic rats and elucidate the mechanisms involved. METHODS: SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, hypercholesterolemia group and puerarin-treated group.The hypercholesterolemia group and puera-rin-treated group were given diet rich in cholesterol.In the meantime, the puerarin-treated group was orally ad-ministrated with puerarin (300 mg·kg^-1 ·d^-1).The lipid profile was investigated by the content of serum TC, TG, HDL-c and LDL-c.The mRNA levels of 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR)and lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51)were analyzed by real time RT-PCR.RESULTS: Puerarin markedly attenuated the increased serum total cholesterol induced by hypercholesterolemic diet.It caused a signifi-cant reduction in the atherogenic index.Expression of mRNA of CYP7A1 was significantly enhanced but not for those of HMGRand CYP51.CONCLUSION: These da-ta indicate that puerarin can reduce the atherogenic prop-erties of dietary cholesterol in rats.Its hypocholester-olemic function may be due to promoting the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids.

Key words: hypercholesterolemia, serum lipids lev-els, atherosclerosis, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA re-ductase, lanosterol 14α-demethylase, 7α-hydroxylase