Abstract
The effect of tu-chung (Eucommia ulmoides, Oliver) leaf meal on reducing lipid accumulation in chickens fed 1% cholesterol containing diet was studied. Forty male White Leghorn chickens aged 56 days were weighed and divided into four groups of ten chickens, and fed diets with or without 1% dietary cholesterol which were supplemented with 0 and 5% tu-chung. Tu-chung supplementation to the diet without cholesterol increased acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p<0.01) but decreased 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activities (p<0.01) with no effect on fatty acid synthetase activities. However, its supplementation to the diet with cholesterol had no effect on these three enzyme activities as compared with the cholesterol containing diet without tu-chung. Tu-chung supplementation to the diet without cholesterol increased hepatic triglyceride (p<0.01), whereas its supplementation to the diet with cholesterol decreased it (p<0.01). Tu-chung supplementation to the diet with cholesterol decreased plasma cholesterol ester, free cholesterol, phospholipids (p<0.05) and triglyceride (p<0.01) as compared with the cholesterol containing diet without tu-chung. Supplementation of tu-chung to the diet without cholesterol decreased plasma free cholesterol (p<0.05). It is concluded that tu-chung leaf meal reduced an increase in lipid accumulation in chickens stimulated by 1% cholesterol feeding.