title: Ameliorative effects of β-sitosterol on some biochemical indices of hypertension in wistar albino rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular diseases presently rank high as leading causes of death globally. The increasing acceptability of phytomedicine is due to the increasing inefficacy of many modern drugs used for the control of many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effects of β-sitosterol (BSS) in comparison with lisinopril, a standard antihypertensive drug, on certain biochemical hypertensive parameters in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hypertension was induced with cadmium chloride and biochemical analysis of serum was carried out following treatment with BSS and lisinopril. Serum urea, creatinine and electrolytes were assayed using standard kit as tests for renal function, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) served as enzyme indices of the liver function. The effect on the serum lipid profile was assessed and histological examination performed on tissues of the liver and kidney.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rats treated with BSS showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the serum creatinine concentration when compared with the hypertensive rats. Treatment with lisinopril showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in the activity of AST and ALP when compared with the normal rats. There were slight variations in the concentration of serum electrolytes of rats treated with BSS and lisinopril respectively when compared with normal and hypertensive rats. BSS significantly reduced calcium levels when compared with the hypertensive group. The histopathological examination of the liver and kidney of animals treated with BSS was not different from the control which showed normal histological structure, while the liver of the hypertensive animals showed scanty inflamed cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows that BSS is effective in restoring basal liver and kidney functions in hypertensive rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Olaiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Esan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Alabi
keywords: biochemical indices; hypertension; lisinopril; β-sitosterol