Hypolipidimic effect of some medicinal plants on diabetic rats

Our aim was to evaluate the hypolipidimic effect of aqueous extract of a famous mixture used in Saudi Arabia folk medicine that consists of Nigella sativa, Commiphora myrrha, Boswellia carterii Birdw, Ferule assa-foetida and Aloe vera and also the extract of each plant alone on alloxan induced diabetic rats. Material and Methods :-The present study was carried out on 80 adult male albino rats (120 ± 20 g.b.wt. ), the rats were divided randomly into 8 groups, the first group served as control group, the second group as alloxan induced diabetic rats, the third group was diabetic rats treated with mixture of folk medicinal plant ( 0.01g /100 g b. wt. ) ,the fourth group: diabetic rats treated with Nigella sativa ( 0.01g /100 g b. wt. ), the fifth group: diabetic rats treated with Aloe vera ( 0.005g /100 g b. wt. ), the sixth group: diabetic rats treated with Ferule assa-foetida ( 0.01 g /100 g b. wt.), the seventh: diabetic rats treated with Boswellia carterii Birdw ( 1ml/100 g b. wt.) and the eighth group: diabetic rats treated with Commiphora myrrha ( 0.01 g ml/100 g b. wt.) Results :- Serum total lipid, serum total cholesterol, LDL–cholesterol, and triglyceride recorded significant increases in diabetic, Nigella sativa, Commiphora myrrha, Boswellia carterii birdw and Aloe vera treated group. While the mixture and Ferule assa-foetida treated group, showed insignificant changes in serum total lipid, triglyceride, serum total cholesterol and LDL–cholesterol. On other hand, the mixture treated group and Ferule assa-foetida treated group showed significant decreased in the previous parameters. The serum HDL–cholesterol was significantly reduced in diabetic group throughout the experimental periods, otherwise, all treated group revealed insignificant changes till the end of experiment when compare with undiabetic rats. Conclusion: The aqueous extract of a mixture consists of Nigella sativa, Commiphora myrrha, Boswellia carterii Birdw, Ferule assa-foetida and Aloe vera are useful for improvement of the lipid profile of alloxan induced diabetic rats fram each plant alone.