Alterations in Serum Lipid Profile of Male Rats by Oral Administration of Aqueous Extract of Fadogia agrestis Stem

Abstract

The effects of repeated administration of aqueous extract of Fadogia agrestis (Schweinf. Ex Hiern) stem on serum lipid profile of male rats and their recovery tendencies for 10 days post-administration were investigated. Graded doses of 18, 50 and 100 mg kg-1 body weight of the extracts were administered orally on daily basis for 28 days. Rats were sacrificed 24 h after their daily doses of 1, 14 and 28 while those for the recovery test were sacrificed 10 days after terminating their 28 daily administration. The serum lipid profile investigated included Total Cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C). The administration of the plant extract to the animals at all the doses produced significant increase (p<0.05) in the serum concentration of total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol with no reversal towards their control by the end of 10 days post-treatment. The computed atherogenic index did not portend predisposition to atherosclerosis. The results indicated alterations in the serum lipid profile of the animals but these alterations are not sufficient enough to predispose the animals to atherosclerosis.