Effects of aqueous extracts of Apocynum venetum leaves on hypercholesterolaemic rats

✍ Scribed by Dong-Wook Kim; Takako Yokozawa; Masao Hattori; Shigetoshi Kadota; Tsuneo Namba

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 81 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0951-418X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1573(19980201)12:1<46::aid-ptr169>3.0.co;2-i

✦ Synopsis

The extracts of dried leaves of Apocynum venetum collected in different places in China (Luobuma I and II), and two processed leaves (Luobuma III and IV), were investigated on serum lipid and hepatic total cholesterol levels in cholesterol-fed rats.

The serum total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced on day 40 in rats given the roasted leaf extracts (Luobuma III and IV) with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively, when compared with a control value of cholesterolfed rats. In the serum lipoproteins, the LDL-cholesterol levels were significantly lower in rats given each sample extract on day 40, compared with the control value, and the HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly higher than that of a control group, except for a group given Luobuma I. Furthermore, the respective atherogenic indices were significantly lower in all groups given Luobuma I to IV, compared with the control value. The hepatic total cholesterol levels were also significantly lower in all of the groups given the Luobuma extracts than that of control rats on day 40. These results suggest that the extract of A. venetum leaves is effective for hypercholesteraemia and the prevention of atherosclerosis.