Studies on the Constituents of Green Juice from Young Barley Leaves. Effect on Dietarily Induced Hypercholesterolemia in Rats

Hypocholesterolemic effects of green juice from young barley leaves were investigated on hypercholesterolemia in rats fed on a high cholesterol diet (HCD). The n-hexane extract from a water insoluble fraction of green juice showed hypocholesterolemic activity. At least two substances responsible for the hypocholesterolemic effects were isolated from the n-hexane extract and purified by silica gel chromatography. One of them was β-sitosterol, and the other n-hexacosyl alcohol which was a saturated higher alcohol having a molecular weight of 382. In the rats fed on HCD added with n-hexacosyl alcohol at a concentration of 1%, the plasma cholesterol level was hardly lowered on day 3 but markedly on day 9. In a similar experiment, β-sitosterol markedly lowered the plasma cholesterol level of rats on both day 3 and day 9. Through these experiments, we found that barley leaves contained hypocholesterolemic substances, and that two compounds such as β-sitosterol and n-hexacosyl alcohol were responsible for the hypocholesterolemic activity.