Volume 11 Issue 1

In vitro Antiobesogenic and In vivo Anti-hyperlipidemic Effects of Selected Medicinal Plants

Anyanwu

Abstract

Medicinal plants are employed as curative measures for the management of different diseases in West Africa, e.g., obesity. The inhibition of amylase and lipase are important targets for anti-obesity drugs/agents; likewise, the inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase for anti-hyperlipidemic drugs/agents. This study aimed to determine the anti-obesogenic and anti-hyperlipidemic activities of selected medicinal plants in in vitro and in vivo models, respectively. Ethanolic extracts and fractions of selected plants were initially screened in vitro against pancreatic lipase (p-nitrophenyl butyrate method) and alpha-amylase (starch-iodine method) at a concentration of 5 mg/ml, and the active plants were further screened at 1 mg/ml. Then, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of plants that were active against alpha-amylase and lipase was determined. Thirty-five Wistar albino rats grouped into five were induced with hyperlipidemia using poloxamer 407 (1.0 g/kg bw) intraperitoneally with the normal, hyperlipidemic, and standard drug control groups being groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The plant extracts that were active against alpha-amylase were L. aegyptiaca (113 ± 0.14 µg/mL), V. subterranea (95.66 ± 0.12 µg/mL), B. vulgaris (262.3 ± 0.09 µg/mL), and C. dactylon (216 ± 0.15 µg/mL), with only V. subterranea (64.50 ± 0.84 µg/mL) and O. gratissimum (71.65 ± 0.12 µg/mL) extracts active against lipase. The n-butanol fraction of O. gratissimum and V. subterranea inhibited pancreatic lipase activity with an IC50 of 75.95 ± 0.47 and 55.41 ± 0.15 µg/mL respectively. The n-butanol fractions (150 and 300 mg/kg bw) of V. subterrenea and O. gratissimum revealed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in triglyceride and total cholesterol compared to the hyperlipidemic control rats. In conclusion, the V. subterranea and O. gratissimum extracts and fractions had an inhibitory effect on pancreatic lipase, while only V. subterranea inhibited alpha-amylase, with both improving lipid profile, thus possessing anti-obesogenic and antihyperlipidemic properties.

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