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Rosmarinic acid alleviates the cardiac abnormalities in high fat diet induced hypercholesterolemic rats
1Department of Biochemistry, Tagore Medical College & Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600127, India.
Insights
Rosmarinic acid demonstrates significant cardioprotective effects against high-fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats. This natural compound reversed adverse lipid profiles and cardiac markers, similar to simvastatin.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, particularly in obese and diabetic populations.
- Obesity and diabetes significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide.
- Existing treatments for hyperlipidemia and associated cardiovascular risks often have limitations or side effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential cardioprotective effects of rosmarinic acid in a rat model of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia.
- To evaluate the impact of rosmarinic acid on various biochemical and histological markers associated with cardiovascular health.
- To compare the efficacy of rosmarinic acid with a standard pharmaceutical intervention, simvastatin.
Main Methods:
- Rats were fed a high-fat diet for eight weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia.
- Administration of rosmarinic acid (100 mg/kg body weight) or simvastatin to experimental groups.
- Comprehensive analysis of plasma lipid profiles, cardiac enzymes, ATPases, lysosomal enzymes, and inflammatory markers (CRP, fibrinogen, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-10).
- Assessment of lipid peroxidation markers, antioxidant enzyme activities, and thoracic aorta histopathology.
Main Results:
- High-fat diet induced significant hypercholesterolemia and aberrant biochemical parameters in rats.
- Rosmarinic acid treatment reversed these anomalies, bringing lipid profiles and cardiac markers near normal levels.
- Histopathological examination of the thoracic aorta showed improvements in rats treated with rosmarinic acid.
- The cardioprotective effects of rosmarinic acid were comparable to those observed with simvastatin.
Conclusions:
- Rosmarinic acid exhibits significant cardioprotective properties against hypercholesterolemia induced by a high-fat diet.
- It effectively modulates lipid metabolism, reduces cardiac stress markers, and mitigates inflammation and oxidative stress.
- Rosmarinic acid represents a promising natural therapeutic agent for cardiovascular protection, with efficacy similar to simvastatin.
Abstract:
Hyperlipidemia is a well-known risk factor for atherosclerosis and subsequent atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases that are associated with high morbidity and mortality in obese and diabetic patients worldwide. The current study looked on rosmarinic acid's cadioprotective effects in rats fed a high-fat diet as there was no study on this aspect. The rats were given a high-fat diet comprising of 84.3 % conventional laboratory rat chow, 5 % lard, 10 % egg yolk powder, 0.2 % cholesterol, and 0.5 % bile salt to produce hypercholesterolemia. Over a span of eight weeks. The plasma lipid profile, cardiac marker enzymes, membrane bound ATPases, lysosomal enzymes, CRP, fibrinogen, proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6,TNF-α, NF-κB),anti-inflammatory cytokine(IL-10) lipid peroxidation markers, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant enzymes activity were examined. The thoracic aorta's histopathology was also analyzed. It was discovered that the rats fed a high-fat diet had hypercholesterolemia and showed aberrant values in the aforementioned parameters. However, rats given rosmarinic acid (100 mg/kg b.w.) had these anomalies reversed to near-normal levels. The biochemical investigation was corroborated by enhanced histological examination of the thoracic aorta in rats suffering from hypercholestolemia. The effects of rosmarinic acid on a number of measures were similar to those of the prescription medication simvastatin. These findings revealed that rosmarinic acid is an important component in the cardiovascular system's defence against a high-fat diet induced hypercholesterolemia.
