Zingiber officinale Roscoe and Citrus limon L. are well known for their multi-use and for their pharmacological effect in the treatment of many illnesses. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of the ginger and lemon juice extracts and in addition, to evaluate their antioxidant properties and their hepatoprotective effect against the liver damage of Wistar rats induced by the injection of CCl4 to treated animals. The obtained effects were completed by a histological study for better confirmation of the registered pharmacological effects. The ginger juice extract was found to be rich in 4-gingerol, 6-gingediol, and 6-gingerol, while the lemon juice extract chemical composition was highlighted by the presence of eriodyctiol, rutin, hesperidin, and isorhamnetin. Concerning the antioxidant activity, the ginger, lemon juice extracts, and their formulation showed an important antioxidant potential using TAC (total antioxidant capacity), an antiradical activity against the radical DPPH• (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil), and a ferric reducing power. Finally, the ginger, lemon, and their formulation at different doses were able to prevent CCl4 induced liver damage. Indeed, these different bioactive compounds could be used as alternative agents for the treatment of chronic liver diseases.

Introduction. Cannabis sativa is a source of oil seeds for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food uses. Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of hemp seed oil (HSO) obtained from a local ecotype called “Beldiya.” Methods. The extraction of HSO was carried out by cold press method. Then, the fatty acid and tocopherol composition was analyzed, respectively, by GC-FID and HPLC. The hypolipidemic activity of HSO at a dose of 3.5 and 7 mg/kg body weight was evaluated in Triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemic mice by measuring plasma cholesterol (total lipid, HDL, and LDL), plasma triglycerides, and atherogenic index using enzymatic methods. Fenofibrate was used as a standard hypolipidemic drug at a dose of 3.5 mg/kg body weight. Results. Analyzed HSO shows a high unsaturated fatty acids’ content with the dominance of linoleic acid (48.85%), oleic acid (21.82%), as well as α- and γ-linolenic acid (14.72%). The result demonstrates that this typical vegetable oil contains a high concentration of γ-tocopherol (456 mg·kg−1 oil). Furthermore, the administration of HSO decreases plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol while increases HDL-cholesterol. Consequently, the HSO reduces the atherogenic index and LDL/HDL ratio. The hypolipidemic effect of fenofibrate is relatively more marked comparatively to that of HSO especially concerning total cholesterol and its LDL fraction. Conclusions. The local ecotype HSO has an interesting effect on plasma lipid parameters and might be beneficial for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and prevention of atherosclerosis.

Hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress are risk factors for atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the hypolipidemic and anti-lipoprotein oxidation activities of polyphenol-rich extracts from almond hulls using Triton WR-1339 and high-fat diet-induced hyperlipemic mice as experimental models. We demonstrated that the almond hull extract significantly reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein-related plasma cholesterol (LDL-C) in the two experimental models of hyperlipidemia, but significantly increased high-density lipoprotein-related plasma cholesterol (HDL-C). Another beneficial effect of the extract was its ability to reduce the atherogenic index and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. However, the extract exhibited effective antiradical activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and significantly protected lipoprotein-rich plasma from mice against oxidation induced by copper ion. The extract contains 342.63±3.44 mg/g total phenolics, 144.67±6.83 mg/g tannins, and 20.66±0.92 mg/g flavonoids. These finding indicate that almond hulls contain polar products able to lower plasma lipid concentrations and which might be beneficial for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and prevention of atherosclerosis.

Hyperlipidemia is the most known cause of metabolic complications and tissue toxicity such as liver steatosis, atherosclerosis and obesity. This study aims to evaluate the preventive effect of loquat fruit...