Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Selected Leaf Extracts on the Lipid Profile of Wistar Rats

Dyslipidaemia is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease; and plant-derived bioactive compounds are increasingly investigated for lipid management. This study assessed the hypolipidaemic effects of aqueous leaf extracts of Solanum aethiopicum (SA), Amaranthus hybridus (AH), Pterocarpus mildbraedii (PM), Ocimum gratissimum (OG) and Telfairia occidentalis (TO) in male Wistar rats over 60 days. Animals were assigned to a control group or to treatment with each extract at low, medium, or high doses. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were measured using standard assay kits. Dose had a significant effect on TC (F = 4.539, p = 0.014), whereas extract type and the interaction were not significant. Numerically, SA produced the largest TC reduction, decreasing from 79.58 ± 7.35 mg/dL in controls to 50.85 ± 1.07 mg/dL at high dose, followed by PM (~62–63 mg/dL) and TO (64.75 ± 0.60 mg/dL). TG declined without statistical significance (F = 2.244, p = 0.115); SA decreased TG from 219.83 ± 8.96 to 193.36 ± 7.75 mg/dL. HDL increased significantly with both dose (F = 45.016, p < 0.001) and vegetable (F = 17.210, p < 0.001), peaking in PM (19.63 ± 1.48 mg/dL) and TO (17.44 ± 0.12 mg/dL) versus control (10.38 ± 0.78 mg/dL). LDL showed modest dose-related reductions (F = 2.776, p = 0.068). The extracts produced dose-dependent TC lowering and pronounced HDL elevation, with SA, PM and TO showing the most favourable numerical effects.