{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:00:24Z","timestamp":1787029224379,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,28]],"date-time":"2024-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727481600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong","award":["24163117"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24163117"]}]},{"name":"Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong","award":["14101119"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["14101119"]}]},{"name":"Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong","award":["14105022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["14105022"]}]},{"name":"Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong","award":["81970423"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81970423"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["24163117"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24163117"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["14101119"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["14101119"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["14105022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["14105022"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["81970423"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81970423"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Aims: Hypercholesterolemia leads to cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. Previous studies have highlighted the crucial role of gut microbiota in alleviating atherosclerosis progression and reducing plasma cholesterol. However, the protective effects of Houttuynia cordata Thunb (HCT), a well-known fishy Chinese herb, against hypercholesterolemia and vasculopathy remain largely unknown. This study aims to explore the effects of HCT extracts on vascular health and gut microbiota in golden Syrian hamsters with hypercholesterolemia. Methods: The hypercholesterolemia hamster model was established by feeding with a high-cholesterol diet. Aqueous or ethanolic HCT extracts were mixed with diet and concurrently given to hamsters for Six weeks. Plasma lipid profiles were evaluated. Aortas were collected to detect fatty streak areas. Feces were collected to analyze the abundance of microorganisms in the gut microbiota. Results: HCT ethanolic extract treatment remarkedly decreased plasma levels of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic hamsters. Notably, both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of HCT reduced atherosclerotic plaques in hamsters fed with a high-cholesterol diet. Strikingly, the effects of HCT ethanolic extract in reducing atherosclerotic plaques are greater than aqueous extract. Furthermore, at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Firmicutes was decreased in hamsters treated with aqueous and ethanolic extracts of HCT. By contrast, the abundance of Bacteroidetes was increased by HCT treatment. At the family level, HCT extract favourably modulated the relative abundance of Porphyromonadaceae and Bacteroidales_S24-7_group. These findings indicate that HCT extracts may facilitate the growth of short-chain fatty acids-producing bacteria to alter gut microbiota composition, contributing to the reduction of plasma lipid levels. Conclusions: This study offers evidence demonstrating the effects of HCT extracts on alleviating atherosclerosis and lowering plasma cholesterol levels in the male hypercholesterolemic hamster model, offering novel insights into the pharmacological effects and promoting the application of HCT. This study highlights the potential of HCT as a dietary supplement to alleviate atherosclerosis, lower plasma cholesterol, and modulate the abundance of microorganisms in gut microbiota.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16193290","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T04:57:28Z","timestamp":1727672248000},"page":"3290","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Houttuynia cordata Thunb. Extracts Alleviate Atherosclerosis and Modulate Gut Microbiota in Male Hypercholesterolemic Hamsters"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yuhong","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chufeng","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianhui","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Edible Fungus Preservation and Intensive Processing, College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6776-8151","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hau-Yin","family":"Chung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5615-1682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhen-Yu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4514-3780","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wing-Tak","family":"Wong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China"},{"name":"Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12008","DOI":"10.1039\/D1FO03082E","article-title":"Polyphenol extract and essential oil of Amomum tsao-ko equally alleviate hypercholesterolemia and modulate gut microbiota","volume":"12","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Food Funct."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117312","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atherosclerosis.2023.117312","article-title":"Non-HDL-cholesterol in dyslipidemia: Review of the state-of-the-art literature and outlook","volume":"383","author":"Raja","year":"2023","journal-title":"Atherosclerosis"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1210\/clinem\/dgad406","article-title":"Does elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol protect against cardiovascular disease?","volume":"109","author":"Razavi","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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