EFFECTS OF LIPID EXTRACTS FROM TURMERIC (Curcuma longa) RHIZOME ON SOME BIOCHEMICAL INDICES IN MALE ALBINO RATS

Abstract

Natural plant products have been used throughout human history for various purposes. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a plant that has a long history of medicinal use. Turmeric lipid (TL) was extracted with n-Hexane and propan-2-ol solvents separately using Soxhlet apparatus. The quantitative evaluation of lipid extracts was determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectophotometry (GC-MS). Sixty adult male albino rats were used for the experiment. There were 10 groups of 6 rats each. Group 1 (control) was fed normal diet only, group 2 (reference) was fed corn oil, groups 3 to 6 were administered varying dosage (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg body weight) of TL extracted with n-Hexane while groups 7 to 10 were given TL extracted with propan-2-ol with same varying dosage respectively. All administrations were done orally for 21 days, after which the dietary effects of TL was determined on the serum lipid profile and some biochemical parameters in selected tissues of male albino rats using Randox kits. The results of this study revealed that TL extracted with n-Hexane and TL extracted with propan-2-ol cause a significant decrease (P<0.05) in serum low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) and a significant increase (P<0.05) in high density lipoprotein (HDL) when compared with the control group and reference group. TL also reduced significantly (P<0.05) the activities of liver aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total protein, albumin and bilirubin and kidney creatinine and urea levels when also compared with the control group and reference group. These results revealed that TL improved serum lipid profile and enhanced the activities of liver and kidney marker enzymes. This established the fact that TL have therapeutic potential in the management of hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases and could be developed as new food additive or drug ingredient for the prevention of diseases associated with liver and kidney in the future.