Effect of Silybum marianum (L. Gaerthn) on C-reactive protein, Lactate Dehydrogenase and Reverse Cholesterol Transport in Rats Prematurely Exposed to a High-Fat, High-Sugar Diet

The milk thistle (Silybum marianum (Sm)) is a medicinal plant used for a long time in the Algerian traditional medicine. its cardioprotective and preventive effects against the development of obesity complications have been very little investigated. The aim of this study was to see if milk thistle seed can slow down the onset of cardio-metabolic disorders in rats prematurely exposed to a High Lipid/High Sugar (HL/HS) diet. Thirty male Wistar rats are divided into three homogeneous groups. The first Control group (C) receives a normocaloric diet; the second consumes the HL/HS diet (untreated group) and the third treated group was exposed to the HL/HS diet supplemented with 10 g/day of Sm seeds (HL/HS-Sm group). After 1 month of experimentation, a reduction in body weight (-14%), enzymatic activities of aspartate aminotransferase (-37%) and alanine aminotransferase (-33%), total lipids, total cholesterol (-58%), unesterified cholesterol (-56%) and cholesteryl esters (-38%) was noted in HL/HS-Sm group compared to HL/HS. Sm seed also reduces blood glucose (1.3-fold), HbA1c (2-fold) as well as CRP, albumin and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (-32%, -20%, -24 %). In contrast, the cholesterol content of anti-atherogenic lipoproteins, the activity of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase and the antioxidant capacity (CAox) were high (+36%; +42%; +10%). In conclusion, Sm seeds in an HL/HS diet have a hypolipidemic effect by improving the antiatherogenic pathway, reduce liver disorders and decrease inflammation and lipoperoxidation by strengthening CAox preventing the development of obesity and the progression of fatty liver disease and its complications.