EFFECTS OF CRUDE AND ALKALOID-RICH EXTRACTS OF Solanum anomalum FRUITS ON TRITON-X-1339-INDUCED-HYPERLIPIDEMIA IN WISTAR RATS

Abstract

Solanum anomalum is a plant commonly found in the western part of Africa and has been reported to exhibit some biological activities. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of methanolic and alkaloid-rich extracts of Solanum anomalum fruits on Triton-X-1339-induced-hyperlipidemia in Wistar rats. Sixty Wistar albino rats were divided into 10 groups (A-J) of 6 animals each. Group A (control) animals were given the vehicle alone (corn oil), groups B-H were given Triton-X-1339 (200 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. Then all the animals were fasted for 72 hours. After fasting, group B served as the induced group, group C (standard) were orally given the standard drug (Nicotinic acid (300 mg/kg)) and groups D-E were orally given the crude extract which was dissolved in corn oil (150 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg respectively), groups F-H were orally given the alkaloid-rich extract which was dissolved in corn oil (10, 15, 25 mg/kg respectively), group I was given crude extract only (150 mg/kg) and group J was given alkaloid-rich extract only (25 mg/kg) throughout the duration of the experiment. The animals were then sacrificed 24 hours after the last dose was administered and serum and liver homogenate from each animal were used for biochemical analyses. Indices of oxidative stress (glutathione concentration and malondialdehyde level), and catalase activity as well as lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein) and total protein were evaluated. The significance of three important lipid ratios, that is, atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) {(logTG)/HDLc}, Castelli’s risk index I & II (TC/HDLc and LDLc/HDLc) in predicting the risk of coronary heart diseases were determined. The result showed that administration of triton-X-1339 to the induced group caused significant (p<0.05) increases in the activities of LDL (64.604.53), triglyceride (49.982.09) and cholesterol (84.184.27) and a decrease in the activity of HDL (9.581.94). Post-treatment with the crude and alkaloid-rich extracts from Solanum anomalum showed an ameliorative effect on the Triton-X-1339-induced-hyperlipidemic rats causing a near normal levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL as compared to the control groups. Hence, the study revealed the cardio-protective potentials of Solanum anomalum aqueous methanolic extract against hyperlipidemia. Also, in this study, the triton-induced hepatotoxicity was established with a significant increase (P < 0.05) in tissue MDA levels, and a general reduction in tissue protein concentrations, catalase activity as well as tissue GSH levels. However, post-treatment with crude and alkaloid-rich extracts showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in catalase activity when compared to the control rats. Interestingly, the extracts were also shown to restore tissue GSH level near its normal level in the treatment groups when compared with the control rats. More so, MDA was assessed as a biomarker of in-vivo lipid peroxidation (LPO), the level of which was shown to be reduced in all the extract-treated rats when compared to the triton-intoxicated rats. From the results, it could be suggested that the methanolic and alkaloid-rich extracts of Solanum anomalum fruits contains some bioactive phytochemicals with possible anti-hyperlipidemic effect.