www.ijbcp.com International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | March 2019 | Vol 8 | Issue 3 Page 589 IJBCP International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology Print ISSN: 2319-2003 | Online ISSN: 2279-0780 Original Research Article Comparative evaluation of the effect of Ocimum sanctum and metformin on serum lipid profile in high fat diet fed diabetic rats Shailendra Mishra 1 , Quazi Shahir Ahmed 2 *, Kauser Sayedda 2 INTRODUCTION Today’s life style with high fat diet and less physical activity plays a significant part in development of dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular diseases. 1,2 Studies have invariably concluded that unfavourable lipid profile serves an important risk factor for development of macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus. 3,4 So, there is always need of a safer yet effective drug for diabetic dyslipidaemia to decrease cardiovascular disease in individual at risk. Herbs and phytochemicals, most of the times, are the sources of new therapeutic interventions. Majority of them act as antioxidants, hypoglycaemics or antihyperlipidaemics. 5,6 Ocimum sanctum (OS) is a plant of family Lamiaceae found throughout India and has been used as a treatment of several ailments by the people in ABSTRACT Background: Dyslipidaemia is an important risk factor for development of macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ocimum sanctum (OS) and metformin have shown to have antihyperlipidaemic effects. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of OS and Metformin on body weight & plasma lipid levels of high fat diet fed diabetic rats Methods: Total of 30 male wistar rats (100-150gm) were obtained. Animals were fed with a high fat diet throughout the study (6 weeks). Diabetes was induced by using single intra-peritoneal injection of Streptozotocin 50mg/kg at the end of 4 weeks. Diabetic rats were divided into groups of 6 each and treated as follows: Group 1- Diabetic control, was given vehicle orally. Group 2- O.S. ethanolic extract 100mg/kg body weight orally for 14 days. Group 3- O.S. ethanolic extract 200mg/kg body weight orally for 14 days. Group 4- Metformin 100mg/day for 14 days Results: At the end of 4 weeks, body weight of rats were significantly increased (p <0.05). Maximum weight gain was seen in control group whereas weight gain was least in O.S. 200mg/kg group (p >0.05). Decrease in body weight was seen in metformin group. Abdominal circumference of rats also showed similar pattern (p >0.05). OS 200 caused significant reduction in serum LDL levels (p <0.05) and significant rise of serum HDL levels (p <0.05) as compared to control group. Metformin also favourably affected the lipid profile and its effects were not significantly different from effects of OS 200 (p> 0.05). Conclusions: Present study revealed that Ocimum Sanctum caused significant reduction in serum lipid levels in high fat diet fed diabetic rats. Metformin also exhibited antihyperlipidaemic activity. So, it is concluded that OS or metformin alone or in combination could be a novel adjunct to diet and life style modification for the management of dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetes. Further studies are required to confirm the antidyslipidaemic activities of individual phytoconstituents of Ocimum sanctum. Keywords: High fat diet, Lipid profile, Metformin, Ocimum sanctum, Rats DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20190670 1 Department of Pharmacology, Integral Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 2 Department of Pharmacology, IIMS& R, Integral University, Uttar Pradesh, India Received: 11 January 2019 Accepted: 07 February 2019 *Correspondence to: Dr. Quazi Shahir Ahmed, Email: quazi800@yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.