Original article Antihyperlipidemic effect of Angiosifa, a polyherbal formulation, in SpragueeDawley rats Subramani Parasuraman a, * , Seevalen Shahul Hamid Babuji a , Gan Siaw Thing b , Kuppusamy Sreevidya Kumari b , Athitan Yoganishalini b , Chua Wei Lian b , Manimaran Kumutha b , Tajudeen Kassim c , Sokkalingam Arumugam Dhanaraj d a Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University, Bedong 08100, Kedah, Malaysia b Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Bedong 08100, Kedah, Malaysia c East West Oriental Enterprises, Penang 10050, Malaysia d Unit of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Bedong 08100, Kedah, Malaysia article info Article history: Received 19 May 2013 Accepted 17 August 2013 Available online 23 October 2013 Keywords: Hypolipidemia Petroleum ether Piloerection Cutis anserina abstract Objective: To study the antihyperlipidemic effect of Angiosifa, a polyherbal formulation (PHF), in Spraguee Dawley (SD) rats. Methods: The rats were divided into seven groups, each having five animals: normal controls, high fat diet (HFD)-fed controls and HFD-fed animals treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/kg), petroleum ether extract of the PHF (200 and 400 mg/kg) and methanol extract of the PHF (200 and 400 mg/kg). The test and standard drugs were administered orally once daily for 28 consecutive days. During the experiment, changes in body weight were noted and alterations in biological and biochemical parameters were monitored at regular intervals. Results: HFD-fed animals showed significant increases in body weight and total cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL levels. They also showed a significant reduction in HDL levels compared with the control and drug treatment groups. Animals treated with atorvastatin and methanol extract of PHF showed signif- icant reductions in total cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL levels compared with HFD-fed animals. But there was no significant hypolipidemic effect in animals treated with petroleum ether extract of PHF, and the ether caused piloerection and led to cannibalism. Conclusion: Methanol extract of PHF has a significant hypolipidemic effect against HFD-induced hyperlipidemia in SD rats. The petroleum ether extract of PHF did not show any significant hypolipi- demic effect on HFD-fed rats. Copyright Ó 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The concept of polyherbalism has been highlighted in the Sar- angdhar Samhita, an Ayurvedic work dating back to 1300 A. D. 1 In a polyherbal formulation (PHF), a combination of herbs is used rather than a single herb. The individual constituents may not be suffi- ciently active to achieve the desired therapeutic effect. By acting on multiple targets at the same time, the PHF enhances the thera- peutic efficacy by improving the bioavailability thereby reducing the doses required of the individual components in the formula- tion. 2 Besides, synergism attenuates undesirable side effects. 3 Raghavendra et al studied the combined effect of the methanol extract of Tribulus terrestris (whole plant) and Annona squamosa leaves against hyperlipidemia, and they concluded that a combi- nation of the two herbs has better hypolipidemic activity compared with the individual effects. 4 Parasuraman et al demonstrated the superior antihyperlipidemic effect of a commercially available PHF that has extract of 10 herbs, viz., Terminalia arjuna, Cissus quad- rangularis, Boerhaavia diffusa, Commiphora mukul, Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia chebula, T. terrestris, Allium sativum and Trigonella foenumgraecum. 5 Angiosifa, a PHF, is used in the management of coronary atherosclerosis, hypercholesteremia and ischemic heart diseases. Angiosifa contains seven herbs, viz., Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Glychyrizza glabra, Nelumbo nucifera, * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ60 103895096 (mobile), þ91 9843800960 (mobile). E-mail addresses: parasuphd@gmail.com, parasuraman@aimst.edu.my (S. Parasuraman). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Pharmacognosy Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/phcgj 0975-3575/$ e see front matter Copyright Ó 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phcgj.2013.08.001 Pharmacognosy Journal 5 (2013) 221e227