title: Antihypercholesterolaemic and antioxidant activity assessment of some plants used as remedy in Turkish folk medicine.
abstract: Ethanolic and aqueous extracts from five plant species used in Turkish traditional medicine were evaluated for in vivo hypercholesterolaemic and antioxidant activities: Agrostemma githago L., Potentilla reptans L., Thymbra spicata var. spicata L., Urtica dioica L. and Viscum album var. album L. We assayed the effects of the administration of plant extracts on serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, LDL-C, glucose, AST and ALT concentrations in mice fed with cholesterol-rich diet. In addition, plasma TAA, MDA and NO(x) levels in the same animals were assayed. All the aqueous plant extracts did not affect the serum cholesterol concentration. However, the ethanolic extracts of Agrostemma githago, Thymbra spicata and Viscum album decreased the serum cholesterol concentration in the mice fed with high-cholesterol diet without inducing any gastric damage. The ethanolic extracts of Thymbra spicata, Viscum album, Potentilla reptans and Urtica dioica and the aqueous extract of Agrostemma githago increased the serum HDL concentration, whereas the ethanolic extracts of Agrostemma githago, Thymbra spicata, Viscum album and Urtica dioica decreased the serum LDL-C concentration. Thymbra spicata and Viscum album were observed to decrease the serum triglyceride concentration. Among the plant extracts studied, the ethanolic extracts of Thymbra spicata significantly decreased the MDA level in mice. The ethanolic extract of Potentilla reptans increased in NO(x). None of these plants showed statistically prominent activity on plasma TAA. Results of the present study indicated that the ethanolic extracts of Agrostemma githago, Thymbra spicata and Viscum album showed potent hypocholesterolaemic activity in the mice fed with a diet containing high-cholesterol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyon, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulcan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Avci
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kupeli
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eryavuz
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yesilada
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kucukkurt
mesh_terms: D031242:Agrostemma; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D031987:Potentilla; D046930:Thymus Plant; D014421:Turkey; D026982:Urtica dioica; D028182:Viscum album
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D008055:Lipids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase