Partially Purified Aqueous Fraction of Desmodium gyrans DC Improves Reverse Cholesterol Transport and Lipoprotein Metabolism in Wistar Rats Fed with High Fat Diet.

Apart from the conventional hypolipidemic therapy, plaque regression through enhanced reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) has emerged as novel approach in atherosclerotic drug development. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) mimetics as well as agents that augment the functional HDL and RCT pathways are under intense exploration. Desmodium gyrans (Fabacea) has been shown to have hypolipidemic efficacy, with an HDL-enhancing property. In this study, a chromatographically purified active fraction of D. gyrans (DGMAF) significantly decreased the serum and lipid profiles as well as lipotoxicity in liver in Wistar rats fed with high-fat diet (HFD). Except for the marginal deposition of liver lipids, all other organs showed no weight gain due to lipid accumulation. A lower level of lipid peroxidation and a reduced atherogenic index suggests the hypolipidemic efficacy of DGMAF, which was comparatively higher than clinically used atorvastatin. Furthermore, the DGMAF-treated animals had enhanced levels of HDL, associated ApoA-1, and paraoxonase activity. The mRNA levels of ApoA-1 and SR-B1 were upregulated, and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) was downregulated. Overall, the results of this study indicate that D. gyrans augments the RCT pathway and improves the lipid metabolism in rats fed an HFD.