Hypolipidemic effects of Olax subscorpioidea Oliv. root extract in experimental rat model

Olax subscorpioidea (Olacaceae) is a major component of a recipe used traditionally in the management of Obesity. In view of the traditional therapeutic use of the plant, this research screened the ethanol root extract of the plant for hypolipidemic effect in Wistar rats. This was carried out to validate its potential as a lipid lowering agent. The experimental rats were randomly distributed into five groups of 7 animals each. Group 1 (not induced with hyperlipidemia) received distilled water; Group 2 (induced with hyperlipidemia). Group 3 (induced) received 10 mg/kg bw of atorvastatin. Groups 4 and 5 were induced with hyperlipidemia and treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg bw extract of Olax subscorpioidea respectively for 14 days. Olax subscorpioidea root contained saponins (865.00 mg/100 g), alkaloids (963.33 mg/100 g), tannins (863.33 mg/100 g), flavonoids (636.67 mg/100 g), anthraquinones (46.67 mg/100 g) and proanthocyanidins (2.67 mg/g). The extract gave 47.30% inhibition against DPPH+. Significant decrease in TC, TG and LDL was recorded in treated groups with 200 and 400 mg/kg bw of the extract. There was also a significant increase in HDL level of treated groups when compared with induced group. This result suggests that ethanol extract of Olax subscorpioidea at 200 and 400 mg/kg bw possesses hypolipidemic effects on diet induced hyperlipidemic rats. The observed bioactivity could be attributed to phytochemical components, proximate contents as well as antioxidant activity of the plant.