Malays. Appl. Biol. (2011) 40(2): 51–54
HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECTS OF METHANOL EXTRACT FROM Avicennia alba LEAVES IN ATHEROSCLEROTIC-INDUCED NEW ZEALAND WHITE RABBIT
APIAH MOHD AMIN1*, MUHAMAD B ZAKARIA1, MAHMOOD, A.A.2, FAEZAH MOHAMAD1 and MUHAMAD FAHRIN MASKAM1
1Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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ABSTRACT
Avicennia alba from the family of Avicenniaceae locally known as “api-api putih”, is one of the pioneer species of mangrove tree and widely distributed in the coastal region of Southeast Asia. A previous study reported that the leaves and fruits from Avicennia sp. including Avicennia alba were used in the treatment of skin ulcer, wound and tumor as traditional medicine. This present study was designed to determine the effects of the methanol (MeOH) extract from Avicennia alba leaves as a hypocholesterolemic agent. This study was carried out by using eighteen adult male New Zealand White rabbits which were divided into three groups: group I – Control (N), group II – 1% cholesterol diet (C), group III – 1% cholesterol diet + MeOH extract of Avicennia alba leaves (AV). This experiment was designed for 10 weeks. Body weight and blood sample were taken on week 0, week 5, and week 10 for biochemical measurements. At the end of the experiment, rabbits were sacrificed and the aorta were removed for intimal lesion analysis using Sudan IV staining. The high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) of AV group had increased significantly from week 0 to week 10 compared to N group and C group. From the result of intimal lesion analysis, MeOH extract from Avicennia alba leaves reduced the development of aortic atherosclerosis. Therefore, dietary with MeOH extract from Avicennia alba leaves show the potential as hypocholesterolemic agent and reduced the atherosclerotic plaque formation in New Zealand White rabbit supplied with high cholesterol diet.
ABSTRAK
Avicennia alba daripada keluarga Avicenniaceae yang dikenali sebagai api-api putih, adalah salah satu pokok bakau perintis yang tersebar luas di pesisir wilayah Asia Tenggara. Kajian sebelum ini menunjukkan bahawa daun dan buah Avicennia sp. termasuk A. alba telah digunakan dalam perubatan tradisional bagi merawat radang kulit, luka dan tumor. Kajian yang sedang dijalankan adalah bertujuan untuk melihat kesan ekstrak metanol (MeOH) dari daun Avicennia alba sebagai agen hipokolesterolemik. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan lapan belas ekor arnab putih New Zealand dewasa jantan yang dibahagikan kepada tiga kumpulan: kumpulan I – kawalan normal (N), kumpulan II - 1% diet kolesterol (C), kumpulan III - 1% diet kolesterol + ekstrak MeOH daun Avicennia alba (AV). Kajian ini dijalankan selama 10 minggu. Berat badan dan sampel darah diambil pada minggu 0, minggu ke-5, dan minggu ke-10 untuk ujian biokimia. Pada minggu ke-10, arnab dikorbankan dan aorta diambil untuk analisis pemendapan lipid pada lapisan intima menggunakan pewarnaan Sudan IV. Paras kolesterol HDL telah menunjukkan peningkatan yang signifikan daripada minggu 0 hingga minggu ke-10 berbanding kumpulan N dan kumpulan C. Keputusan daripada pewarnaan ini pula menunjukkan ekstrak MeOH dari daun A. alba dapat mengurangkan pembentukkan plak aterosklerotik pada dinding aorta. Oleh yang demikian, diet bersama ekstrak MeOH dari daun A. alba menunjukkan potensi sebagai agen hipokolesterolemik dan mengurangkan pembentukan plak atresklerotik dalam arnab putih New Zealand yang diberikan diet tinggi kolesterol.
Key words: Avicennia alba, atherosclerosis, hypocholesterolemic, intimal lesion
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