Hypolipidemic and anti-atherogenic effect of aqueous extract leaves of Ficus glumosa (Moraceae) in rats

article i nfo Leaves of Ficus glumosa are used in northern Cameroon and southern Chad for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, as food and as a stimulant for milk production in both women and animals. Atherosclerosis is a disease in which frequency increases with age. The first lesions appear at the young subject during adolescence. Athero- sclerosis lesions appear very precociously and worsen with age. They interest the levels chronologically aortic, coronarythencarotid.Ageisariskfactorinthatitreflectstheexposuretimeofindividualtotheotherriskfactors. The frequency of the atherosclerosis increases with age because of the aging of the cells. This study was under- taken to evaluate the hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic properties of aqueous extract of the leaves of F. glumosa in rats with hypercholesterolemia (HC). 60 male rats were fed for 4 weeks with a high-cholesterol diet (1%) and 3 doses (225, 300 and 375 mg/kg) of extract of F. glumosa were used in these experiments. The ex- periments were conductedunderthe same conditionswithatorvastatin (1mg/kg),aspharmacological reference substance. The effects of F. glumosa on weight gain, water and food consumption, levels of serum lipids and lipo- protein lipidoxidationand stress markersinthe blood and liver were examined. The administration ofF.glumosa extract prevented significant (P b 0.05) elevation in TC, LDL-c, VLDL-c, hepatic and aortic TG and TC. The athero- genic, triglyceride, and lipid peroxidation (TBARS) indexes were also decreased in the rats treated with the ex- tract. F. glumosa favored the performance of fecal cholesterol. It also significantly inhibited the changes and the formation of aortic atherosclerotic plaques. These results revealed the hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic ef- fects ofF.glumosaextract and supportthetraditionaluseof the extractof thisplantinthetreatment of hyperten- sion and diabetes.