Effect of Methanolic Extracts of Tylophora indica L. Leaves on Lipid Profile in Rats

Tylophora indica L is important medicinal plant ofAyurvedic system of medicine and used as home remedy as cardioprotective agent without any scientific background. In this investigation an attempt was made to study the effect of methanolic extract of Tylophora indica L (HETI) on serum lipid profile. Albino rats were administered HETI (100 mg/kg&500 mg/kg) once daily orally for 30 days. Accordingly, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were among the parameters investigated. We also evaluated the activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as a measure of hepatic cell damages. It was found in our study that the administration of both doses of HETI to animals fed with high fat diet (HFD) lowered their serum TC, TG and LDL-C significantly, while raised the serum HDL-C. Treatment with HETI reduced serum ALT and AST levels compared to HFD groups. Further, it was also observed that the high dose of HETI significantly decreases serum TC, TG and LDL-C and increases HDL-C in animals fed with normal fat diet (NFD). Based on these data, it is concluded that the chronic administration of HETI in high dose up to 500 mg/kg has definite cardioprotective potential and these results constitute a valid scientific basis for consuming Tylophora indica L. for medicinal application.