Effect of adding different dosage Hirudo nipponica on the level of blood lipids in rabbits fed with high-fat diet

Objective:To study the effects of different dosage Hirudo nipponica on the level of blood lipids in rabbits fed with high-fat diet. Methods:150 male meat rabbits were selected and randomly divided into five groups, control group, high serum lipid group and three different dosage Hirudo groups. Rabbits in Hirudo groups were daily fed with Hirudo (0.15, 0.075, 0.0375g/kg) for 40 days. The blood samples were drawn from heart just before the experiment and the 20th day, 40th day of the experiment. The blood lipids level in serum included total cholesterol (TC) , triglyceride (TG) , high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) , low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) . Results:The body weight of rabbits in each groups was increasing during the test period, but no significant was observed between each groups (p>0.05) . The blood lipids in high serum lipid group was abnormal, compared with control group, the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C in high serum lipid group were significantly increased (p<0.01) , the level of HDL-C was higher (p>0.05) . Compared with high serum lipid group, the level of TC, TG, LDL-C in three Hirudo groups were significant decreased (p<0.01) , while no significant differences (p>0.05) were observed between the three Hirudo groups. Compared with high serum lipid group, the level of HDL-C in Hirudo group had no significant differences (p>0.05) . Conclusion:Hirudo could regulate the blood lipid and prevent the formation of hyperlipidmia, and the lower level Hirudo (0.0375g/kg) could significantly decrease blood lipids.