Journal of Pharmaceutical Research & Reports

This study investigated antihyperlipidemic activity of Phormidium tenue on high cholesterol diet induced hyperlipidemia in Wistar albino rats. The ethanolic extract of P. tenue was given at the dose of 1 g/kg to the group of animals once in a day along with the high cholesterol diet orally, for 25 days. There was a significant increase in body weight of high cholesterol diet rats, compared to normal rats. However, there was no change in the body weight of test groups treated with P. tenue. The treatment also significantly reduced the levels of serum cholesterol, Triglyceride (TG), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) and increased the level of High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) in hyperlipidemic rats nearer to standard drug. Histopathological studies revealed that the coronary artery wall appeared normal, with no foam cells, no disturbance in the endothelial cell and no change in the muscle fibers in the control group or standard drug treated group. The coronary artery wall of the algal treated rats was similar to that of the normal rats. Our study suggests that P. tenue has the potential protective role for coronary heart disease, and hence further clinical trials are required to explore natural biomolecules towards developing drug.