title: Anti-hypercholesterolemic effect of Pistacia lentiscus fatty oil in egg yolk-fed rabbits: a comparative study with simvastatin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study was undertaken to assess anti-hyperlipidemic activity of Pistacia lentiscus fatty oil (PLFO) in rabbits following a hyperlipidemic diet.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty healthy female (WNZ) rabbits were divided into four groups of five animals each: (a) normal control (NC group) receiving standard diet, (b) hyperlipidemic control (EY) group receiving standard diet and gavaged daily with egg yolk (10 mL), (c) hyperlipidemic + PLFO (EY + PLFO) group receiving as the EY group and treated daily with PLFO (2 mL/kg BW, (d) hyperlipidemic + simvastatin (EY + SVS) group receiving as the EY group and treated once daily with 2.5 mg/kg BW of simvastatin. At the end of the six-week experimental period, the lipidemic profiles of the different groups were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the EY group, the egg yolk resulted in a significant increase of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, LDL-C, and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. Both the EY + PLFO and EY + SVS groups, when compared to the EY group, showed a significant decrease of TC, TG, LDL-C, and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. However, with respect to HDL-C the differences were not significant. The TGs were significantly lower (P < 0.001) in the simvastatin-treated group when compared to rabbits treated in the PLFO group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study concludes that P. lentiscus fatty oil (PLFO) possesses anti-hyperlipidemic properties at least in reducing total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Pharmacology & Toxicology Laboratory, Mentouri Constantine University, Algeria. Electronic address: Zouhir21265@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Zouhir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Djerrou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004530:Egg Yolk; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D027927:Pistacia; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D019821:Simvastatin
keywords: Anti-hperlipidemic activity; Fatty oil; Pistacia lentiscus; Rabbits