Antihyperlipidaemic and antihypercholesterolaemic effects of Anethum graveolens leaves after the removal of furocoumarins
Yazdanparast, R.; Alavi, M.
Cytobios 105(410): 185-191
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 0011-4529 PMID: 11409638 Document Number: 537870
Serum triacylglycerides and total cholesterol levels in rats, with hyperlipidaemia induced by diet, were determined after oral administration of a water extract of Anethum graveolens leaves, collected from southern Tehran, Iran, before and after the extraction of the furocoumarin content of the leaves. Administration of the extracts consecutively for 14 days reduced the triacylglycerides and total cholesterol levels by almost 50 and 20%, respectively. Chloroform extraction of furocoumarins from the aqueous extracts did not reduce the antihyperlipidaemic potential of the extracts to a significant degree. Oral administration of the essential oil of A. graveolens seeds, at two different doses, also reduced the triacylglyceride levels by almost 42%. The total cholesterol level was not reduced by the same doses of the essential oil.