The hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic effects of taurine were investigated in genetically hypertensive rats: stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). SHRSP were fed a hypercholesterolemic (HC) diet supplemented with 3% taurine for 50 days, and serum cholesterol was monitored. Cholesterol content and enzymatic activity responsible for cholesterol synthesis and metabolism were also determined in the liver, aorta, and intestine. Taurine prevented increases in the cholesterol level of the serum, liver, and aorta induced by a HC diet. Severe fat deposits of the mesenteric arteries induced by a HC diet were improved by the taurine treatment, showing the hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic effects of taurine. Taurine enhanced the activity of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, a rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis, and stimulated bile acid production. These results suggest that taurine stimulates bile acid synthesis, which is closely related to the enhancement of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activity, and thereby reduces serum cholesterol. In addition, a decrease in the intestinal acyl CoAxholesterol acyltransferase activity by taurine suggests that the inhibition of cholesterol absorption may also be related to the hypolipidemic effect of taurine, in part.

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