Research

Effects of Krill Oil on serum lipids of hyperlipidemic rats and human SW480 cells

Jia-Jin Zhu^1,2* , Jia-Hui Shi^1,2* , Wen-Bin Qian³ , Zhen-Zhen Cai^1,2 and Duo Li^1,2

¹  Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China

²  APCNS Centre of Nutrition and Food Safety, Hangzhou, PR China

³  Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, PR China

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

Lipids in Health and Disease 2008, 7:30doi:10.1186/1476-511X-7-30

Published:	29 August 2008

Abstract

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and colon cancer incidence are known to be closely related to dietary factors. This article evaluated effects of krill oil (KO) on serum lipids of hyperlipidemia rats and human colon cancer cells (SW480). Serum lipids of rats fed with high fat diet (HFD) and different doses of KO were measured by automatic analyzer. Effect of KO on viability of cells was determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay.

Results

Except for higher dose group, body weights decreased significantly. Total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) of all dose groups, Triglycerides (TG) of low and mid dose groups descended significantly, while there were no significant differences of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), compared with control group. Treatment of colon cancer cells with KO also resulted in time-dependent inhibition of cell growth.

Conclusion

Our findings indicated that the consumption of KO may provide benefits to control serum lipid levels in certain diseases and inhibit growth of colon cancer cells. Therefore, KO may be a good candidate for development as a functional food and nutraceutical.