Investigating the Effect of Saffron Petal Extract on Antioxidant Activity and Inflammatory Markers in Hypercholesterolemic Rats

Introduction: High-cholesterol diet is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease leading to the death of millions of people annually. One of the ways to prevent this risk is the use of chemical drugs, but herbal compounds at controlled levels have less adverse effects than chemical compounds. In the present study, we investigated the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of a saffron petal on malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes, inflammatory markers and lipid profile and compared it with lovastatin in hypercholesterolemic rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 equal groups (n = 5). Group 1 (sham) received a normal diet and Group 2 (control) received only a high-cholesterol diet (2). Group 3 to 6 were treated with a high-cholesterol diet (2) in the first 4 weeks and 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg of saffron petal extract and 10 mg/kg of lovastatin, respectively, in the second 4 weeks. At the end of the study, the level of activity of antioxidant enzymes and the level of lipid profile and inflammatory markers were measured. Results: The mean plasma MDA level, SOD enzyme activity of red blood cell, lipid profile and inflammatory markers were significantly increased in the control group (high-cholesterol diet) compared to the sham group (P <0.001). However, these cases in the other groups treated with hydroalcoholic extract of the saffron petal (groups 3, 4 and 5) and lovastatin drug (group 6) showed a significant decrease (minimum significant difference, P <0.05), despite receiving high-cholesterol diet (p