BAHLIL et al. RESEARCH ARTICLE Zygophyllum album aqueous extract reduces oxidative damage in red blood cells and attenuate pro-inflammatory plasma markers in hypercholesterolemic-diabetic rats Yasmina BAHLIL, Djamil KROUF * and Nawal TALEB-DIDA Abstract Zygophyllum album (Z. album) is used in traditional medicine for a long time for its anti-diabetic activities. Thisstudy had to assess Z. album extract supplementation effects on redox and inflammatory statuses in hypercholesterolemic-diabetic rats. Male rats Wistar (n=36), weighing 200±10 g were divided into three groups (n=12). The first group was rendered hypercholesterolemic (HC) with a high cholesterol diet (1 %). The second group was rendered diabetic (D) by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg of body weight). The third group was rendered hypercholesterolemic-diabetic (HC-D); each group was divided into two groups (n=6), untreated groups (HC, D, HC-D) and treated groups with 1 % Z. album extract (HC-Za, D-Za and HC-D-Za). After 28 days, Z. album treatment lead to a decrease in RBC’s TBARS contents in HC-Za (-44 %), D-Za (-66 %) and HC-D-Za (-23 %) groups. An increase in the antioxidant enzymes activities (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase) was observed in HC-Za, D-Za and HC-D-Za (p <0.05). IL-1 β and IL-6 concentrations were reduced by -44, -50 and -33 % and -49, 38 and -41 %, respectively in treated groups. A decrease in TNF-α as well as homocysteine and CRP was observed in Z. album treated groups (p <0,05). In conclusion, Z. album reduces radical attack and improves the anti-inflammatory proprieties in hypercholesterolemic-diabetic rats. Keywords: Hypercholesterolemia; Diabetes; Zygophyllum album; RBC; Oxidative stress; inflammation Introduction Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are considered the leading cause of morbi-mortality worldwide and refer to various medical con- ditions [1]. Various risk factors predisposing to CVD, such as hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and * Correspondence: lncmkrouf@gmail.com Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Université Oran, 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, Oran, Algeria. Fax: 0021351074435 Full list of author information is available at the end of the article. aging, lead to vascular dysfunction and CVD, partly due to ox- idative and inflammatory stress [2, 3]. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidative stress fac- tors are associated with cardiovascular and inflammatory dis- eases [4, 5]. ROS play a key role in the inflammatory compo- nent of CVD, where they induce the formation of inflamma- somes, which in turn support the secretion and transformation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin IL-1 β and IL- 8 by activation of caspase-1 [3, 6]. In addition, recent research has shown that ROS have the power to trigger secretion of pro-