Bartholomew IC Brai, Adebimpe A Odetola, Samuel K Akindele, Toun W Fesobi and Philip U Agomo
Keywords: P. americana, leaf extracts, hyperlipidemia, antioxidant effect, albino rats.
Abstract: Hyperlipidemia is an important factor in the pathogenesis of chronic degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer. Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae) is a plant that has been widely used in folk medicine in the treatment of various ailments including hypertension. This study investigated antiperoxidative and oxidative potentials of aqueous extract of P. americana (AEPA) and methanolic extract of P. americana (MEPA) respectively in rats. Hyperlipidemia was induced by feeding four-week-old male albino rats with high lipid diet containing cholesterol and cholic acid. Hyperlipidemic rats were administered either AEPA or MEPA orally (10 mg kg-1 body weight) for 8 weeks. Control rats received standard chow and water only. The antiperoxidative potential of the extracts was evaluated by measuring the levels of malondialdehyde(MDA), conjugated dienes (CD) and protein carbonyls while the antioxidant effect was assessed by determining the levels of antioxidant enzymes and glutathione (GSH). Administration of AEPA and MEPA lowered oxidative stress as shown by a decrease in protein carbonyl and significant (p<0.05) decline in plasma MDA. The extracts elicited an increase in the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and a significant (p<0.05) increase in GSH compared to the hyperlipidemic control rats. These findings indicate that the leaf extracts of P. americana possess antiperoxidative and antioxidant effects which may be attributed to individual or combined action of the phytoconstituents. This may account for its use in traditional medicine and could be further exploited in the management of diseases associated with hyperlipidemia.
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