| Abstrakt: |
Anacardium occidentale stem bark has been reportedly used in the management of diabetes, inflammatory and oxidative stress conditions in folk medicine. In this study, the methanolic stem bark extract of Anacardium occidentale (MEAO) was evaluated for its hypolipidemic and antioxidant activities. Extract was obtained from powdered stem bark of A. occidentale by maceration in methanol (80%). Phytochemical screening, phenolic contents and free radical scavenging activity were determined in the extract. Animals were injected with Triton-X 100 (100 mg/kg, i.p.) to induce hyperlipidemia. MEAO (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) and atorvastatin (10 mg/kg) were administered orally for 7 days. Serum, liver and heart tissue homogenates were used for determination of lipid profile and antioxidant assays. Alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, anthraquinones, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides were found to be present in MEAO. Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of MEAO were 129 mg GAE/g sample and 93.7 mg RE/g sample respectively. MEAO showed potent antioxidant activity with IC value of 42.44 ± 0.16 compared to ascorbic acid with 121.7 ± 0.04. Administration of MEAO resulted in a significant ( p <0.05) decrease in Triton-X 100 induced serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, VLDL-C, atherogenic index and increase in HDL-C. In addition, MEAO also showed antioxidant activity by significantly reducing lipid peroxidation and preventing the depletion of GSH in hepatic and cardiac tissues. The results suggest that A. occidentale stem bark contains phytochemicals with hypolipidemic and antioxidant properties, justifying its use in ethnomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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