Singapore Med J 2009; 50 (3) : 295 Original Article Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia Amran AA, MSc Doctorate Student Zaiton, Z, MBBS, PhD Associate Professor Department of Anatomy Faizah O, MD, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biomedical Science Morat P, PhD Professor Correspondence to: Dr Zaiton Zakaria Tel: (60) 3 4040 5577 Fax: (60) 3 2693 9687 Email: zaitonz@medic. ukm.my Effects of Garcinia atroviridis on serum profiles and atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta of guinea pigs fed a high cholesterol diet Amran A A, Zaiton Z, Faizah O, Morat P ABSTRACT Introduction: The fruit extract of Garcinia atroviridis (G. atroviridis) contains hydroxycitric acid and flavonoids, which have been reported to have a hypolipidaemic property. This extract with solvent methanol was used to investigate its effects on serum lipid profiles of guinea pigs fed a high cholesterol diet. Methods: 24 male Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were randomly divided into four groups. The first group served as controls and was fed with commercial rabbit chow. The second group was given only G. atroviridis by oral gavage (50 mg/body weight). The third group was fed a one percent cholesterol diet in food pellets in order to induce atherosclerosis. The fourth group was administered G. atroviridis with cholesterol. All the treatments were given daily for eight weeks, after which the animals were sacrificed, and the blood and aorta were taken for biochemical analysis and histological studies. Results: The supplementation of G. atroviridis with a cholesterol diet decreased the level of lipid profile in the serum. Histological studies showed a reduction in fat deposition in the aorta of high cholesterol diet animals given G. atroviridis as compared to the high cholesterol diet group. Conclusion: This study has shown that dietary intake of G. atroviridis has a tendency to decrease lipid composition levels in the serum and reduce fat deposition in the aorta of high cholesterol diet animals. Keywords: atherosclerosis, cholesterol, Garcinia atroviridis, lipid profile Singapore Med J 2009; 50(3): 295-299 INTRODUCTION Garcinia atroviridis (G. atroviridis) Griff ex T. Anders is a medium-sized fruit tree that belongs to the Gutiferae family. It is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia and is known as “asam gelugur” or “asam keeping” in Malaysia. (1) The plant contains fruit acids, such as citric acid, tartaric acid and ascorbic acid, that have antioxidant properties. Phytochemical investigations of G. atroviridis have enabled the isolation of garcinia acid (t-hydroxycitric acid) and its γ-lactone, atroviridin, atrovirisidone and atrovirinone, as well as the identifcation of some organic acids, viz. citric, pentadecanoic, octadecanoic, nonadecanoic and dodecanoic acids in its fruit by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). (2-4) However, the most important bioactive compound is the hydroxycitric acid (HCA). G. atroviridis also contains favonoids, demonstrating a wide range of biochemical and pharmacological effects including antioxidation, anti-infammation, antiplatelet, antithrombotic action and anti-allergic effects. (5) In folkloric medicine, G. atroviridis has been used as a postpartum medication agent as well as an agent to treat earache, throat irritation, cough, dandruff and any stomachache associated with pregnancy. (1) The extracts of G. atroviridis also exhibit strong antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumour and anti- infammatory activities. (1,6) It has been used to reduce blood pressure in rats. (7) Hypercholesterolaemia is known to be one of the prime risk factors for ischaemic cardiovascular diseases, such as arteriosclerosis. An important risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis is an atherogenic lipid profle, i.e. hyperlipidaemia with increased LDL- cholesterol (LDL-C) and relatively decreased HDL- cholesterol (HDL-C). Atherosclerosis is a major source of morbidity and mortality in both developing and developed countries. (8) Atherosclerosis is a chronic infammatory disease of the arterial intima characterised by the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque. (9) Accumulating evidence suggests that plaque formation is associated