The present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of an herbal product DRF/AY/4013 for its hypolipidemic activity in various experimental rat models. An indigenous polyherbal formulation DRF/AY/4013, composed of different phytoconstituents like Terminalia arjuna, Commiphora mukul, Allium sativum, Cyperus rotundus and Acorus calamus extracts, exhibited potential hypolipidemic activity treatment in triton induced hyperlipidemic rats. Further, it also showed promising hypolipidemic activity in both high fat diet (HFD) induced hyperlipidemic rats and propylthiouracil (PTU) induced hyperlipidemic rats. In all the experimental hyperlipidemic models, DRF/AY/4013 treatment demonstrated dose dependent hypolipidemic activity at 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg dose levels by decreasing serum lipid and lipoprotein profile, atherogenic index (AI) and lipid peroxidation process. Furthermore the 800 mg/kg dose level group V rats exhibited pronounced hypolipidemic activity almost comparable to atorvastatin standard drug (10 mg/kg) treated group VI rats. In HFD induced hyperlipidemic rat model, DRF/AY/4013 treated groups III, IV, V exhibited mild, minimal and negligible degree of cytoplasmic fatty infiltration respectively in hepatocytes as compared to marked degree in untreated control HFD induced group II rats. In short, the DRF/AY/4013 treatment demonstrated a promising hypolipidemic activity in all experimental rat models and therefore, needs further clinical evaluation in humans.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
