Effects of Cydonia oblonga Miller leaf and fruit flavonoids on blood lipids and anti-oxydant potential in hyperlipidemia rats

Objective: To study the effects of Cydonia oblonga Miller (COM) total flavonoids (TF) from leaves and fruit on the blood lipid and antioxidant potentials using hyperlipidaemic rat models. Methods: Hyperlipidaemic rat models were created with high-lipid emulsion. Rats were distributed into normal controls, hyperlipidaemic models, and daily high (160 mg/kg), medium (80 mg/kg) and low (40 mg/kg) TF from leaves and fruit and simvastatin (5 mg/kg) groups. After four weeks, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), as well as hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Results: Compared with the hyperlipidaemic model group, TF significantly reduced serum TC, TG, LDL-C (P <0.01), ALT and AST (P <0.01 or P <0.05) and increased HDL-C (P <0.05 or P <0.01). TF also reduced MDA (P < 0.01 or P < 0.01). Conclusion: COM total flavonoids can effectively regulate the metabolism of lipids, and remove oxygen free radicals. This confirms its potential value in the prevention and treatment of hyperlipidaemia. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.