Research Article Effects of Ferulago angulata Extract on

Copyright © 2014 Mahmoud Rafieian-kopaei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Nowadays, herbs they are considered to be the main source of effective drugs for lowering serum lipids and lipid peroxidation. The present experimental animal study aimed to assess the impact of Ferulago angulata on serum lipid profiles, and on levels of lipid peroxidation.Methods. Fifty male Wistar rats, weighing 250–300 g, were randomly divided into five equal groups (ten rats in each).The rat groups received different diets as follows: Group I: fat-rich diet; Group II: fat-rich diet plus hydroalcoholic extracts of Ferulago angulata at a dose of 400mg/kg; Group III: fat-rich diet plus hydroalcoholic extracts of Ferulago angulata at a dose of 600mg/kg; Group IV: fat-rich diet plus atorvastatin; GroupV: common stock diet.The levels of serumglucose and lipids and the atherogenic index were measured. In addition, malondialdehyde (MDA), thiol oxidation, carbonyl concentrations, C-reactive proteins, and antioxidant capacity were evaluated in each group of rats. Results. Interestingly, by adding a hydroalcoholic extract of Ferulago angulata to the high-fat diet, the levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in the high-fat diet rats were both significantly reduced.This result was considerably greater compared to when atorvastatin was added as an antilipid drug. The beneficial effects of the Ferulago angulata extract on lowering the level of triglycerides was observed only when a high dosage of this plant extraction was added to a high fat diet. Furthermore, the level of malondialdehyde, was significantly affected by th