Hypolipidaemic effects of methanol extract of Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planchon bark in diet-induced obese rats.

The leaf and bark paste of Holoptelea integrifolia is traditionally used for the treatment of obesity in Asian countries. However, no scientific studies have been undertaken to reveal the actual mechanism of action. The present study aimed to investigate the hypolipidaemic effect of H. integrifolia and its mechanism in diet-induced obese rat model. After 4 weeks of oral administration, blood samples were collected for the estimation of serum lipids, lecithin: cholesterolacyltransferase (LCAT) apolipoproteins (apo) and liver for HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) assay. The faecal samples were also collected to estimate the faecal fat content. The H. integrifolia treatment markedly lowered body weight, serum lipids and apo B and increase high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and apo A1 concentrations. In this study, HMGR activity was enormously reduced, which helps to reduce cholesterol biosynthesis and an increase in LCAT activity was also observed. The detailed faecal analysis showed a remarkable increase in faecal lipids, which indicates the ability to inhibit intestinal fat absorption. The methanol fraction of H. integrifolia on LC-MS and tandem mass spectrometry analysis shows the presence of a compound, 3-(7-ethoxy-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)propanoate (C1). The result showed that the significant hypolipidaemic effect of H. integrifolia may be linked to its ability to inhibit HMGR activity and block intestinal fat absorption.