Effect of herbal formulation intake on health indices in albino Wistar rat model

Abstract

Abstract Dyslipidemia management activity of ginger‐, garlic‐, and lemon‐based herbal mixture was tested as paste and herbal extract in hypercholesterolemic adult male albino rats. Atherogenic diet‐induced hypercholesterolemia in rats was treated by supplementing the diet with 2.5% herbal paste (4.2 g/kg b.w.) or 2.5 ml oral gavage (20 ml/kg b.w.) of liquid herbal extract daily for 42 days. Hematological and serological outcomes of herbal formulation feeding were compared with the cholesterol‐fed positive control and normal control. The results suggest the significant (p .05) impact of herbal formula feeding was observed on hematological indices except lymphocyte counts, that is, 93% in rats fed on herbal paste. The results validate conventional hypocholesterolemic claims associated with ginger‐, garlic‐, and lemon‐based herbal formulations; however, deeper insight into their dose‐dependent response in hypercholesterolemia is necessitated to rule out the toxicological impact on the consumer.

Keywords

• bilirubin
• hypercholesterolemia
• low‐density lipoprotein
• toxicity
• traditional medicine