HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECT OF SAPONIN EXTRACTS IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS
Hikal, Mohamed S.;
Abstract
Hypercholesterolemia was induced by feeding
of rats on a high cholesterol diet (HCD) that contains cholesterol (1%), bile salts (0.25%) and coconut butter (15%) to evaluate the protective effect
of steroidal saponins extracted from fenugreek and
asparagus, and triterpenoidal saponins extracted
from soapwort and licorice. The rats were divided
into 6 groups, and the first one was fed on a basal
diet and served as a negative control group. The
second group of rats received HCD without any
plant extract and served as a positive control
group. The other four groups of rats were fed on
HCD plus the plant extracts separately at a dose of
250 mg/kg/day during the experiment period (6
weeks). The protective effect of various saponin
extracts were monitored through assays of total
cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) in blood,
liver tissues and feces of the rats as well as other
blood analyses and histological examinations of
liver tissues. The data indicated a significant
(P<0.05) increase in the levels of TC, TG, low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein
(VLDL), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate
dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase
(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline
phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyltransferase
(GGT) and glucose, and a significant (P<0.05)
decrease in the level of high density lipoprotein
(HDL) in addition to insignificant (P<0.05) differences in the levels of total bilirubin (TB), total protein (TP), urea, creatinine and uric acid in serum of
hypercholesterolemic rats (the positive control)
compared to the negative control. The protective
effect of various saponin extracts were established
by lowering the levels of TC and TG, and obtaining
the other biochemical parameters near to their
normal values in serum of rats fed on these plant
extracts. The data also indicate that TC and TG
decreased significantly (P<0.05) in liver tissues of
the rats treated with various saponin extracts compared to the positive control. Conversely, the levels
of TC and TG increased significantly (P<0.05) in
feces of the rats treated with various saponin extracts compared to the negative and positive controls. Histological examinations showed lower content of fats in liver tissues of the rats treated with
various saponin extracts compared to the positive
control. Both of steroidal and triterpenoidal saponins exhibited approximately the same efficiency in
their protective effects against hypercholesterolemia. The hypocholesterolemic effect of saponin
extracts may be due to the inhibition of cholesterol
absorption in the intestine which led to increase of
cholesterol excretion in the feces.
of rats on a high cholesterol diet (HCD) that contains cholesterol (1%), bile salts (0.25%) and coconut butter (15%) to evaluate the protective effect
of steroidal saponins extracted from fenugreek and
asparagus, and triterpenoidal saponins extracted
from soapwort and licorice. The rats were divided
into 6 groups, and the first one was fed on a basal
diet and served as a negative control group. The
second group of rats received HCD without any
plant extract and served as a positive control
group. The other four groups of rats were fed on
HCD plus the plant extracts separately at a dose of
250 mg/kg/day during the experiment period (6
weeks). The protective effect of various saponin
extracts were monitored through assays of total
cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) in blood,
liver tissues and feces of the rats as well as other
blood analyses and histological examinations of
liver tissues. The data indicated a significant
(P<0.05) increase in the levels of TC, TG, low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein
(VLDL), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate
dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase
(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline
phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyltransferase
(GGT) and glucose, and a significant (P<0.05)
decrease in the level of high density lipoprotein
(HDL) in addition to insignificant (P<0.05) differences in the levels of total bilirubin (TB), total protein (TP), urea, creatinine and uric acid in serum of
hypercholesterolemic rats (the positive control)
compared to the negative control. The protective
effect of various saponin extracts were established
by lowering the levels of TC and TG, and obtaining
the other biochemical parameters near to their
normal values in serum of rats fed on these plant
extracts. The data also indicate that TC and TG
decreased significantly (P<0.05) in liver tissues of
the rats treated with various saponin extracts compared to the positive control. Conversely, the levels
of TC and TG increased significantly (P<0.05) in
feces of the rats treated with various saponin extracts compared to the negative and positive controls. Histological examinations showed lower content of fats in liver tissues of the rats treated with
various saponin extracts compared to the positive
control. Both of steroidal and triterpenoidal saponins exhibited approximately the same efficiency in
their protective effects against hypercholesterolemia. The hypocholesterolemic effect of saponin
extracts may be due to the inhibition of cholesterol
absorption in the intestine which led to increase of
cholesterol excretion in the feces.
Other data
| Title | HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECT OF SAPONIN EXTRACTS IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS | Authors | Hikal, Mohamed S. | Keywords | Asparagus, Fenugreek, Hypercholesterolemia, Licorice, Saponins, Soapwort, Steroidal, Triterpenoidal. | Issue Date | Feb-2019 | Journal | Arab Universities Journal of Agricultural Sciences | Volume | 26(6) | Issue | 26(2D), 2463-2478, 2019 | Start page | 2463 | End page | 2478 | DOI | 10.21608/ajs.2018.35613 |
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