Experimental studies on the hypolipidemic activity of chloridarol

The efficacy of chloridarol (2-benzofuryl-p-chlorophenyl carbinol) as hypolipidemic agent was evaluated in rats and rabbits. In normolipidemic rats chloridarol, at doses ranging from 50 to 200 mg/kg/day, decreased plasma triglycerides without affecting cholesterolemia and fast- or norepinephrine-induced lipolysis. The drug proved effective in reducing fructose-induced hypertriglyceridemia and dietary hypercholesterolemia in rats; in the latter model chloridarol significantly raised both the HDL cholesterol and the HDL/VLDL + LDL cholesterol ratio. In hyperlipidemic rabbits the drug had no effect on plasma cholesterol, but it lowered triglyceridemia. The action of chloridarol on rat liver ultrastructure was also investigated. Treatment for one month induced peroxisome proliferation, less marked, however, than that elicited by clofibrate; after a prolonged chloridarol treatment (9 months), this effect had almost completely disappeared and the ultrastructure of the hepatocytes was close to that of controls.