Endocrine Abstracts

The resin of the guggul tree (Commiphora mukul) has been used for millennia in Ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of ailments. Extracts of this resin have been reported to lower LDL cholesterol in humans, and the plant sterol guggulsterone (4,17(20)-pregnadiene-3,16-dione) is thought to be the active agent. We have found that guggulsterone is an antagonist ligand for the nuclear the bile acid receptor, FXR. Guggulsterone treatment lowers hepatic cholesterol levels in wild t...