C O Olaiya1, A M Esan1, T D Alabi2. 1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. 2. Department of Chemical Sciences, Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases presently rank high as leading causes of death globally. The increasing acceptability of phytomedicine is due to the increasing inefficacy of many modern drugs used for the control of many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effects of β-sitosterol (BSS) in comparison with lisinopril, a standard antihypertensive drug, on certain biochemical hypertensive parameters in rats. METHODS: Hypertension was induced with cadmium chloride and biochemical analysis of serum was carried out following treatment with BSS and lisinopril. Serum urea, creatinine and electrolytes were assayed using standard kit as tests for renal function, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) served as enzyme indices of the liver function. The effect on the serum lipid profile was assessed and histological examination performed on tissues of the liver and kidney. RESULTS: The rats treated with BSS showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the serum creatinine concentration when compared with the hypertensive rats. Treatment with lisinopril showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in the activity of AST and ALP when compared with the normal rats. There were slight variations in the concentration of serum electrolytes of rats treated with BSS and lisinopril respectively when compared with normal and hypertensive rats. BSS significantly reduced calcium levels when compared with the hypertensive group. The histopathological examination of the liver and kidney of animals treated with BSS was not different from the control which showed normal histological structure, while the liver of the hypertensive animals showed scanty inflamed cells. CONCLUSION: The study shows that BSS is effective in restoring basal liver and kidney functions in hypertensive rats.
BACKGROUND:Cardiovascular diseases presently rank high as leading causes of death globally. The increasing acceptability of phytomedicine is due to the increasing inefficacy of many modern drugs used for the control of many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effects of β-sitosterol (BSS) in comparison with lisinopril, a standard antihypertensive drug, on certain biochemical hypertensive parameters in rats. METHODS:Hypertension was induced with cadmium chloride and biochemical analysis of serum was carried out following treatment with BSS and lisinopril. Serum urea, creatinine and electrolytes were assayed using standard kit as tests for renal function, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) served as enzyme indices of the liver function. The effect on the serum lipid profile was assessed and histological examination performed on tissues of the liver and kidney. RESULTS: The rats treated with BSS showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the serum creatinine concentration when compared with the hypertensiverats. Treatment with lisinopril showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in the activity of AST and ALP when compared with the normal rats. There were slight variations in the concentration of serum electrolytes of rats treated with BSS and lisinopril respectively when compared with normal and hypertensiverats. BSS significantly reduced calcium levels when compared with the hypertensive group. The histopathological examination of the liver and kidney of animals treated with BSS was not different from the control which showed normal histological structure, while the liver of the hypertensive animals showed scanty inflamed cells. CONCLUSION: The study shows that BSS is effective in restoring basal liver and kidney functions in hypertensiverats.
Authors: Donald Lloyd-Jones; Robert J Adams; Todd M Brown; Mercedes Carnethon; Shifan Dai; Giovanni De Simone; T Bruce Ferguson; Earl Ford; Karen Furie; Cathleen Gillespie; Alan Go; Kurt Greenlund; Nancy Haase; Susan Hailpern; P Michael Ho; Virginia Howard; Brett Kissela; Steven Kittner; Daniel Lackland; Lynda Lisabeth; Ariane Marelli; Mary M McDermott; James Meigs; Dariush Mozaffarian; Michael Mussolino; Graham Nichol; Véronique L Roger; Wayne Rosamond; Ralph Sacco; Paul Sorlie; Randall Stafford; Thomas Thom; Sylvia Wasserthiel-Smoller; Nathan D Wong; Judith Wylie-Rosett Journal: Circulation Date: 2010-02-23 Impact factor: 29.690