Hyperlipidemia is a potent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. The reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) process has been shown to alleviate hyperlipidemia and protect against cardiovascular diseases. Recently, rosmarinic acid was reported to exhibit lipid-lowering effects. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to investigate whether rosmarinic acid lowers lipids by modulating the RCT process in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemic C57BL/6J mice. Our results indicated that rosmarinic acid treatment significantly decreased body weight, blood glucose, and plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in HFD-fed mice. Rosmarinic acid increased the expression levels of cholesterol uptake-associated receptors in liver tissues, including scavenger receptor B type 1 (SR-B1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R). Furthermore, rosmarinic acid treatment notably increased the expression of cholesterol excretion molecules, ATP-binding cassette G5 (ABCG5) and G8 (ABCG8) transporters, and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase A1 (CYP7A1) as well as markedly reduced cholesterol and triglyceride levels in liver tissues. In addition, rosmarinic acid facilitated fatty acid oxidation through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) induction. In conclusion, rosmarinic acid exhibited a lipid-lowering effect by modulating the expression of RCT-related proteins and lipid metabolism-associated molecules, confirming its potential for the prevention or treatment of hyperlipidemia-derived diseases.
Keywords: ABC transporters; AMPK; RCT; hyperlipidemia; rosmarinic acid.