Anti-Dyslipidemic Potential of Sulfated Glycosaminoglycan from Rock Oyster Saccostrea cucullata: An in vivo study

The rock oyster, Saccostrea cucullata, native to the Indo-Pacific region, is renowned for its nutritional and therapeutic benefits. A sulfated glycosaminoglycan (SCP-2) with β-(1→3)-GlcNSp and α-(1→4)-GlcAp as recurring units isolated from S. cucullata. SCP-2 exhibited substantial 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) inhibition potential (IC₅₀ 0.65 mg/mL) in comparison with atorvastatin (IC₅₀ 0.72 mg/mL). An in vitro study of SCP-2 (0.1-160 μg/dL) revealed a 77-89% reduction in triglyceride levels in control Caco-2 cells after 4 days of incubation, similar to atorvastatin-treated cells (90%). The acute dyslipidemic efficacy of SCP-2 (at 90 mg/kg body weight) showed timely alleviation of triglyceride and cholesterol levels in tyloxapol-induced rats (∼43% and 81% inhibition at 5 h), which was analogous to the atorvastatin treatment group (∼66% and 71%). Furthermore, SCP-2 (at 90 mg/kg body weight) showed mitigation in triglyceride (> 50%) and cholesterol levels (> 25%) in high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet-induced rats, similar to the lovastatin treatment group (approximately 62% and 33% inhibition on the 45^th day). Histopathological studies of SCP-2 also showed recovery in steatosis, inflammation, and ballooning degradation in liver tissues. Structure-activity relationship analysis suggested the sulfate groups in SCP-2 enhance its anti-dyslipidemic efficacy. The capability of SCP-2 to mitigate cholesterol, triglyceride, and HMGCR levels makes it a prospective functional food against dyslipidemia-related disorders.