Qom University of Medical Sciences Journal

Background and Objectives: Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times to treat obesity, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic diseases. In the present research, the effect of extract of aerial parts of Salvia hydrangea on changes in body weight and liver and kidney function tests, were evaluated in hypercholesterolemia rats.

Methods: In this study, 40 male Wistar rats were assigned to 5 groups (n=8): Control group with normal diet, hyperlipidemia group with fatty diet, and hyperlipidemia experimental groups that, respectively, received, 100mg/kg (minimum dose), 200mg/kg (average dose), and 400mg/kg (maximum dose) of ethanol extract of Salvia hydrangeas by gavage. At the end of this period (35 days), blood sampling was performed to measure the levels of cholesterol, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, bilirubin, albumin, total protein, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST(, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The data were analyzed using t-, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey tests. Level of significance was considered at p<0.05.

Results: The levels of ALP, ALT, and cholesterol had a significant increase in the hypercholesterolemia group compared to the control group (p<0.05). Also, the levels of ALP, ALT, AST, and cholesterol decreased in the experimental group receiving extract, and the albumin level significantly increased (p<0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, Salvia hydrangea extract can be effective in the improvement of fatty liver function by lowering the levels of cholesterol and liver enzymes. This role is likely due to antioxidant substances present in the extract, which inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol.