31 ANTIHYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECT OF Arcangelisia flava STEM EXTRACT IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC RATS Evi Umayah Ulfa, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember, evi.farmasi@unej.ac.id; Ema Rachmawati, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember, emarachmawati.unej@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular diseases especially coronary heart disease (CHD) is the main disease cause death in the world. The mortality rate of CHD (26.4%) is higher than the mortality rate of cancer (6%). Indonesian Health Department in 2002 reported that one of four people were died due to CHD. Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for CHD. Hyperlipidemia is lipid metabolism disorder characterized by an elevation of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol 1 . Arcangelisia flava Merr is a plant belongs to Menispesmaceae family, comonly known as yellow root. A flava is Indonesian medicinal plant that have been used traditionally for malaria, diabetes mellitus (DM), urinary stones, jaundice, diarrhea and skin abscess 2,3,4 .The water extract of A. flava showed antimicrobial activity 5 . Methanolic extract of A. flava has antioxidant and cytotoxic effect against brine shrimps and breast cancer cells (MCF-7) 4 . The Ethyl acetate fraction of A. flava have been proven to reduce blood sugar level of diabetic rats 6 . The major chemical compounds of stem of A. flava is alkaloid including berberine, palmatine, jathorrizine and columbamime 7 . Flavonoid, saponin, tanin and furanoditerpene are other compounds of A. flava 8 . Berberine isolated from Coptis sinensis can decrease total cholesterol and triglycerides by increasing expression of the hepatic low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) 9 . Our previous study showed that methanol extract of leaf of A. flava reduced TC and LDL cholesterol. These extract was capable to decrease the atherogenic index value and the number of foam cells 10,11 . Antihyperlipidemic effect of A flava was caused by berberine and flavonoid in the extract. The berberine content of stem was higher than leaf of A. flava 12 . In order to know the antihyperlipidemic effect of stem extract of A. flava, the influence of methanolic extract of A. flava stems (EMBAf) on total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels has been determined in hyperlipidemic induced rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted at Laboratory of Biomedic in Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember. A. flava was collected from National Park of Meru Betiri in March 2015 and identified by Biology Department of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Jember. Apparatus : Rat balance, analytical balance, rotary vacuum evaporatour, TLC dencytometer, oral gavage for rat, Biolyzer 100. Materials : methanol extract of A. flava stems, simvastatin, CMC-Na, n hexane, methanol, fructose 27,5%, aquadest, animal food high fat content, reagent for TC, TG and LDL-C. Animals : All experiments were performed on Wistar male rat weighing 150-200 g. The animals were acclimatized for 1–2 weeks before being used for the experiments. Standard pelleted diet and water were given ad libitum. Preparation of Methanol Extract of A. flava Stems (EMBAf) Drieds A. flava stems were ultrasonicated with hexane (1:6) for 1 h. The residues were ultrasonicated for 1 h with methanol (1:6). Methanol filtrate were collected and evaporated using rotary vacuum evaporator until concentrated extract achieved. The extract was suspended in CMC Na 1% before use. Preparation of Hyperlipidemia Induced Rats Hyperlipidemic rats was artificially induced by orally administration of cholesterol and fructose for 45 days. Normal rats received water alone for 45 days. Treatment was started after induction and continued for 7 days. Treatment Protocols and Statistical Analysis Twenty hiperlipidemic rats were randomly devided into 4 groups. Group I received CMC Na 1% (control diabetic group), group II and III treated with 250 mg/Kg BW and 500 mg/Kg BW of EMBAf respectively (treatment group) and group IV received simvastatin 1.8 g/Kg BW (positive control). Normal rats were used as normal control. TC, TG, and LDL-C were determined with Biolyzer 100 on 0 (H0) and 7 days after treatment (H8). The HDL-C was calculated using formula HDL-C = TC-LDL-TG/5. The atherogenic index was calculated by using formula AI = TC/(HDL- TC). Berberine content and Total Flavonoid content The berberine of EMBAf was determined by TLC- densitometric method 4 . The stationary phase used silica gel (GF254) plates while mobile phase used toluene : etanol: NH3 25% = 3:4:1 (v/v/v). Detection