Abresham ameliorates dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and hypertension in high-fat diet fed rats by repressing oxidative stress, TNF-α and normalizing NO production.

This study was aimed to investigate whether standardized hydroalcoholic extract of abresham (AB) ameliorates dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and associated hypertension in rats fed with high-cholesterol/high-fat diet (HFD). HFD (55% calorie from fat and 2% cholesterol) were fed for 45 days to induce dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and associated hypertension. After confirmation of hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol >150 mg/dl) on 30th day, different doses of AB (200-800 mg/kg/day) were administered for next 15 days. HFD administration for 45 days led to cardiometabolic syndrome characterized by significant increase in body weight, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, TNF-α levels along with decrease in high density lipoprotein cholesterol and serum NO level. Furthermore, HFD resulted in significant increase in systolic arterial pressure, diastolic arterial pressure and mean arterial pressure. In addition, morphological studies revealed hepatic steatosis along with swelling of mitochondria and loss of cristae in hepatocyte and periarteritis in aorta. Treatment with AB for 15 days positively modulated the altered parameters in dose-dependent fashion, though maximum effect was seen at 800 mg/kg. These findings suggest that AB guard against cardiometabolic syndrome in HFD fed rats. It attenuates dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and associated hypertension by decreasing oxidative stress, TNF-α and normalizing NO production.