Rosmarinic acid-rich extract from Ocimum basilicum L. decreases hyperlipidemia in high fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic mice and prevents plasma lipid oxidation

Introduction: In this study, we investigated the effect of basil rosmarinic acid-rich extract on mice lipid metabolism, low-density lipoprotein oxidation and antiradical property. Methods: The rosmarinic acid rich-extract was used to treat male mice. Mice were divided into four groups of seven mice and treatment was performed daily and orally for 9 weeks. The antihyperlipidemic effect was evidenced by the measurement of plasma and liver lipid profiles. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay was used to measure the antioxidant capacity of the phenolic extract using mice plasma rich in low density lipoprotein (LDL). The antioxidant activity of the extract was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging capacity and the measurement of oxidative β-carotene bleaching. Results: The extract exerts a significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol. Similar results were observed in liver total cholesterol and triglycerides. The phenolic extract prevents lipoprotein oxidation by 93% at a dose of 25μg/ml. We also note that the extract scavenges DPPH radical in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50= 12.45±0.18 μg/ml. Besides, the extract inhibits the oxidation process of β-carotene, the IC50 was 12.16±0.19 μg/ml. HPLC analysis shows that the extract contains caftaric acid (2.9%), caffeic acid (4.3%), chicoric acid (5.5%) and rosmarinic acid (87.3%) which is the major compound. Conclusion: The results obtained suggest that the extract may be an important source of natural compounds that can be exploited as a substrate to develop new treatment of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.