Preventive effect of Caralluma fimbriata against high-fat diet induced injury to heart by modulation of tissue lipids, oxidative stress and histological changes in Wistar rats

Abstract

Objective

To investigate whether hydro-alcoholic extract of aerial parts of Caralluma fimbriata (CFE) could attenuate high-fat diet (HFD) induced cardiac damage.

Methods

Forty rats were divided into five groups: control (C), treated with CFE, treated with HFD, HFD treated with CFE, and HFD treated with metformin (Met).

Results

CFE treatment significantly (p < .001) attenuated HFD-induced increase in cardiac lipids such as total lipids, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and free fatty acids and decreased phospholipids accompanied by increasing in lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. Furthermore, significant reduction in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, creatine kinase and aldose reductase and sorbitol dehydrogenase was also observed in HFD fed rats. These changes were alleviated by CFE. Moreover, the histopathological observations of heart are also in agreement with the biochemical findings.

Conclusion

The present study confirmed that CFE could be used as adjuvant therapy for preventing or managing high fat diet induced cardiac damage.

Keywords:

• Antioxidant potential
• HFD
• hyperlipidaemia
• polyol pathway enzymes

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. P.B.B.N. Charyulu, Department of Microbiology, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, India who assisted in the proof-reading of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are thankful to the University Grants Commission (Postdoctoral Fellowship), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for providing a research fellowship [PDFSS-2013–14-ST-AND-4524] to undertake this work.