Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics Vol. 46, December 2009, pp. 507-510 Hypolipidemic activity of Hibiscus rosa sinensis root in rats Vishnu Kumar 1 , Pradyumn Singh 1 , Ramesh Chander 1 , Farzana Mahdi 1 , Sushma Singh 3 , Ranjana Singh 3 , Ashok Kumar Khanna 2 , Jitendra Kumar Saxena 2 , Abbas Ali Mahdi 3 , Vinod Kumar Singh 3 and Raj Kumar Singh 3 * 1 Department of Biochemistry & Pathology, Era's Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow, 2 Division of Biochemistry, Central Drug Research Institute, Luckno, and 3 Department of Biochemistry, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (Formerly King George's Medical University), Lucknow- 226003, India Received 12 August 2009; revised 20 November 2009 The hypolipidemic activity of Hibiscus rosa sinensis (family Malvaceae) root extract was studied on triton and cholesterol-rich high fat diet (HFD) induced models of hyperlipidemia in rats. In triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemia, feeding with root extract (500 mg/kg body wt/day p.o.) exerted lipid-lowering effect, as assessed by reversal of plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), phospholipids (PL) and triglycerides (TG) and reactivation of post-heparin lipolytic activity (PHLA) of plasma. The other model was fed with cholesterol-rich HFD and root extract (500 mg/kg body wt/ day p.o.) simultaneously for 30 days. This also caused lowering of lipid levels in plasma and liver homogenate and reactivation of plasma PHLA and hepatic total lipoprotein lipase activity. The hypolipidemic activity of Hibiscus rosa sinensis root was compared with a standard drug guggulipid (200 mg/kg body wt/day p.o.), a known lipid- lowering agent in both models. Histopathological findings in rat liver supported the protective role of H. rosa sinensis root extract in preventing cholesterol- rich HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. Keywords: Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Triton, Cholesterol hyperlipidemia, Hypolipidemic agent, Post-heparin lipolytic activity, Hepatic lipoprotein lipase activity, Hepatic steatosis. Hibiscus rosa sinensis (family Malvaceae; Hindi name Gudhal, Japa in Sanskrit and Shoe flower in English) is an Ayurvedic remedy that has been mentioned in many ancient Indian medical literatures and is reported to possess antipyretic 1 , anti- complementary and anti-diarrheic activities 2 . The flowers of the plant possess anti-spermatogenic, androgenic 3 and anticonvulsant activities 4 . The leaves are useful in healing of ulcers and exhibit hair growth promoting activity 5 . Recent reports have also shown anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-ammonemic, post-coital anti-fertility, cardio protective and wound healing activities 6-14 . Cardiovascular diseases are leading cause of death in both industrialized and developing nations. Disorders of lipid metabolism, following oxidative stress are the prime risk factors for initiation and progression of these diseases 15,16 . The known lipid lowering drugs, such as fibrates, statins and bile acid sequestraints have many side effects in patients 17 . Thus, there is a considerable interest on development of lipid-lowering drugs from natural products in the recent years. In the present study, we have investigated hypolipidemic activity of Hibiscus rosa sinensis root in triton-WR-1339 and high fat diet- induced hyperlipidemia in rats. Material and Methods Preparation of root extract H. rosa sinensis roots (primary, secondary and tertiary) were collected from local area of Lucknow and identified taxonomically by Department of Pharmacology, Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow. A voucher specimen (HRS-001/06) was also submitted to Pharmacology Department. Roots were dried under shade, powdered and (500 g) extracted with 95% ethanol 18 in a soxhlet extractor for 72 h, and the extract was concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure and controlled temperature (50-60°C), yielding 25 g of reddish brown semi-solid extract. This was stored in refrigerator and used to investigate hypolipidemic activity in rats. Guggulipid, a potent lipid-lowering agent from Commephora mukul developed in Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow was used as a standard drug. ______________ *Corresponding author E-mail: singhrk23a@hotmail.com Tel: +91-522-2257576, Fax: +91-522-2253030. Abbreviations: HFD, high fat diet; LPL, lipoprotein lipase; PHLA, post-heparin lipolytic activity; PL, phospholipids; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides.