Antihyperlipidemic Effect of Flavonoids and Saponins from Pyracantha fortuneana Fruits on L02 Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans

In China, <i>Pyracantha fortuneana</i> has been consumed as a nutritious plant to improve indigestion. In the current study, the main chemical composition of <i>P. fortuneana</i> fruits was extracted and analysed for composition. Free fatty acids (FFA)-induced normal human hepatic L02 cells were used to construct a high-fat cell model, and lipid deposition in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> was induced by a high concentration of glucose to study the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of the main components. The results showed that the flavonoid content of PFF (<i>P. fortuneana</i> Flavonoid Fractions) was 80.28%, and it contained various flavonoids such as epicatechin, isoquercetin, rutin, quercetin, and myricitrin, while the saponin content of PFS (<i>P. fortuneana</i> Saponin Fractions) was 74.4%, and it contained saponins such as shionone, crategolic acid, and ursolic acid. PFF and PFS significantly reduced the content of lipid droplets in high-fat L02 cells, inhibited mitochondrial membrane potential decline, regulated the fat accumulation by up-regulating the relative mRNA expression levels in the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, as well as the CPT-1 and SIRT1 genes in lipid metabolism. Meanwhile, both PFF and PFS significantly reduced lipid deposition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and catalase activity in <i>C. elegans</i>. In summary, our results indicated that the flavonoids and saponins of <i>P</i>. <i>fortuneana</i> are potential natural products in antihyperlipidemic effect.