Antihyperlipidemic and Antioxidant Effects of Ethanol Fraction of Sargassum angustifolium in Dexamethasone-Induced Dyslipidemic Rats

Background and objectives: Recent data propose the beneficial antihyperlipidemic effects of several marine brown alga belonging to the genus Sargassum. In the current study, the effects of ethanol fraction of Sargassum angustifolium were assessed on dexamethasone-induced dyslipidemia in rats. Methods: The fraction was prepared by maceration method and then using a reverse phase column chromatography. It was evaluated for total phenolic and salt contents. Seven groups of six male rats were used as the following: group 1 (normal control) received vehicle for 1 week; group 2 (Sargassum control) was treated only with 80 mg/kg S. angustifolium for one week; group 3 (dyslipidemic control) received dexamethasone (10 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously) for one week; groups 4-6 (test groups) received dexamethasone and were simultaneously treated orally with 20, 40 or 80 mg/kg S. angustifolium and group 7 (reference) received dexamethasone and atorvastatin (40 mg/kg, orally) for one week. At the end of experiment, fasting blood glucose, lipid markers and malondialdehyde levels were evaluated in serum specimens. Livers were weighed and processed for histopathological inspection. Results: The content of total phenolics was 87.21 ± 2.4 mg/g as gallic acid equivalent and salt as NaCl was 6.5 g/100 g. Treatment with S. angustifolium significantly decreased serum blood sugar, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low‑density lipoprotein-cholesterol and malondialdehyde levels and also alleviated steatotic changes in liver tissues compared to the dexamethasone-induced dyslipidemic control group. Conclusion: Findings of the current study revealed anti-hyperglycemic, hypolipidemic and anti-lipid proxidative properties of S. angustifolium ethanol fraction in an animal model of dyslipidemia.