Effects of Retinervus luffae fructus on serum lipid level in experimental hyperlipidemia rats

AIM: To investigate effects of Retinervus luffae fructus (RLF) on level of serum lipid and body weight in hyperlipidemia rats. METHODS: Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (A), hyperlipidemia group (B), hyperlipidemia + RLF group (C), RLF group (D). Both group A and C were fed normal diet every day, while group B and group D fed high fat diet. Meanwhile, group C and D were administered with RLF solution at the dose of 10 mL/kg, respectively for 14 days, while group A and B were administered with drinking water. RESULTS: (1) At the end of experiment, a significant reduction was found in the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) of group C animals treated with RLF solution; (2) The levels of serum TC of group D was progressively decreased compared to the level of serum TC at the beginning of experiment; (3) The level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) of group C remained unaltered 8d after treatment with RLF solution; (4) The body weight in group C was obviously lower than that in group B. CONCLUSION: RLF had an obvious hypolipidemic effect on hyperlipidemia rats. It can inhibit the decrease in the HDL-C and the increase of body weight in rats.