Professor Zhen-Yu Chen, School of Life Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China

Plasma cholesterol, heart disease and functional foods

Cholesterol is always an important issue because plasma total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) correlate strongly with the risk of coronary heart disease. Cholesterol homeostasis is maintained by a complex mechanism which involves the sterol absorption, anabolism, catabolism and excretion. Nutraceuticals and functional foods which lower plasma TC can affect the genes which regulate cholesterol homeostasis. In general, cholesterol-lowering functional foods and nutraceuticals can be classified into seven types namely intestinal Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 (NPC1L1) competitors, intestinal acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase 2 (ACAT2) inhibitors, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, LDL receptor up-regulators, bile acid reabsorption inhibitors, cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) activators, and plasma cholesteryl ester transporting protein (CETP) inhibitors. This presentation will discuss recent research progress in the field, and explore the underlying mechanisms of some popular cholesterol-lowering nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Short c.v. of Prof. Zhen-Yu Chen
Dr. Zhen-Yu Chen is the Chair professor and associate director of School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Prof. Chen obtained his PhD in 1989 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA, USA. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom and Fellow of American Chemical Society-Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, USA.

Prof. Chen’s research area involves food chemistry and nutrition, particularly in cholesterol-lowering functional foods, and natural antioxidants, free radicals and ageing. Prof. Chen has authorized over 230 peer-reviewed papers with about 10 000 total citations. He is the associate editor of “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry”, and serves as editorial board for other 10 journals.