ALERT: Niacin May Effect the Liver to Raise Good HDL Cholesterol

Niacin has been touted as positiviely affecting our cholesterol ratios, but did you know this? Niacin’s cholesterol-lowering effects may by located in the liver. New research completed at the Atherosclerosis Research Center in Long Beach and UC Irvine helps to fill the gaps in our understanding of the heart healthy benefits of this important B vitamin. The research was focused on a certain component in the enzyme ATP synthase. ATP is our body’s “energy currency” without it, our cells and thus we could not survive. A subunit of the enzyme known as the ‘beta chain’ can take up and thus remove HDL cholesterol from our bloodstream. The authors wrote:

“In this report, we show, for the first time, that niacin decreases the surface expression of beta chain of ATP synthase in cultured HepG2 cells ,”

In other words, the results of this research indicates that niacin impedes the liver from removing HDL cholesterol from our blood, thus maintaining high plasma levels of HDL. High levels of HDL in our blood has been correlated to lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Reference:

J Lipid Res. 2008 Jun;49(6):1195-201. Epub 2008 Mar 3. Niacin inhibits surface expression of ATP synthase {beta} chain in HepG2 cells: implications for raising HDL.Zhang LH, Kamanna VS, Zhang MC, Kashyap ML.

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