Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) juice residue and its ethanol extract decrease serum lipid levels in high‑fat diet‑fed C57BL/6J mice

Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) yields aronia berries, which are rich in anthocyanins. Although aronia juice and its extract have various potential health benefits, information regarding the activity of aronia juice residue is currently limited. The present study examined the effects of aronia juice residue and its ethanol extract on glucose and lipid metabolism in high‑fat diet‑fed mice. Following a 26‑day trial, serum triglycerides, free fatty acids and low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in mice fed aronia juice residue or its ethanol extract than in the high‑fat‑fed control mice. Furthermore, mice fed aronia compounds demonstrated a suppressed hepatic mRNA expression of stearoyl‑CoA desaturase 1, which promotes fatty acid synthesis, whereas the expression levels of cholesterol 7 alpha‑hydroxylase, a rate‑limiting enzyme of cholesterol catabolism, were increased. Moreover, the ethanol extract inhibited lipase activity in vitro. On the whole, these results indicate that aronia juice residue and its ethanol extract are potentially useful in suppressing lipid metabolic dysfunction in high‑fat diet‑fed mice.