Effect of Azanza Garckeana Fruit Extract on Lipid Profile Levels and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Cadmium Chloride Induced Female Wistar Rats

Background: Oxidative stress and hypercholesterolaemia have been indicated to have severe impacts on several diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, etc. As an alternative to the recorded challenges to orthodox medications, there is a huge reliance on medicinal plants for the treatment of many ailments. Plants like Azanza garckeana have been explored, as there are reports of the presence of bioactive substances that may be beneficial. Aim: This study investigated the Effect of Azanza garckeana fruit (AGF) extract on lipid profile and oxidative stress biomarkers in cadmium-induced female Wistar rats. Methods: Thirty adult female Wistar rats were randomly assigned into six groups (n = 6) for each study: negative control, CdCl only, CdCl + AGF (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg), and CdCl + simvastatin 100 mg/kg and Vitamin E 100mg/kg (Oxidative stress study). CdCl2 was administered for 2 weeks and toxicity confirmed, prior to commencement of treatment with extract + CdCl2 for another 4weeks. At the end of six weeks, Blood samples were taken by cardiac puncture in a plain bottle (without anticoagulant). Lipid profile and oxidative stress markers were determined by the spectrophotometric method using their respective kits. Data were analysed using SPSS (version 27.0). Results: The results for lipid profile showed that elevated total Cholesterol levels (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) due to cadmium induction were significantly (p <0.05) reduced in the AGF-treated groups. High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels (1.54 ± 0.03) were elevated in the treated groups when compared to the positive control (1.38 ± 0.08), but not significantly. For oxidative stress makers, GSH, CAT, and SOD levels of the negative control were significantly (P<0.05) reduced, while MDA levels were markedly higher in the Cadmium only group. The herbal extract was able to ameliorate the reduction of SOD and CAT by elevating the antioxidant levels towards the levels indicated in the negative control in a more potent manner than the synthetic drug (vitamin E), and also drastically reduced the MDA levels. Conclusion: The herbal extract, containing hexadecanoic acid, was found to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, and antibacterial properties, which may be attributed to its antioxidant properties.