CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS OF NORMAL WISTAR RATS ON PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO AQUEOUS STEM BARK EXTRACT OF DIALIUM GUINEENSE

The use of medicinal plants and their products in health management has gained wide acceptance. However, their usage is limited by the inability to ascertain their potential toxic effect at doses administered and duration. The present study investigated the effect of prolonged exposure of normal Wistar rats to aqueous extract of Dialium guineense (AEDG) stem bark on cardiovascular disease risk factors. Male albino rats (Wistar strain, n = 10) weighing between 150 and 180 g (mean weight = 165 ± 15 g) were divided into two groups (5 rats per group): control and observation groups. Rats in the observation group received 1000 mg/kg body weight, bwt, AEDG stem bark orally for twelve weeks, and assays were performed on monthly basis. The results showed that exposure of normal Wistar rats to aqueous extract of D. guineense stem bark for a period of twelve weeks (3 months) led to significant and time-dependent increases in their body weight and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level (p < 0.05), but it did not significantly alter the total protein concentration (p > 0.05). In addition, the extract treatment significantly and time-dependently reduced the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), and atherogenic coefficient (AC) (p < 0.05). However, the marked reduction in cardiac risk ratio (CRR) was not time-dependent. These results indicate that the medicinal plant stem bark applied over a long period of time can effectively manage disease conditions, which hallmarks are hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia