lipid-lowering activity of cow urine ark in guinea pigs fed with a high cholesterol diet

objectives: cow urine ark (cua), known as “amrita” as mentioned in ayurveda, contains‎ anti-hyperglycemic and antioxidant effects. therefore, we designed the present study to evaluate the lipid ‎lowering activity of cua and its possible implication in metabolic syndrome.‎ materials and methods: thirty guinea pigs of either sex were divided into five groups: group 1 and 2 serving as a vehicle ‎and sham control, received normal and high fat diet for 60 days respectively; group 3, 4 and 5 ‎received high fat diet for 60 days with cua 0.8 ml/kg, 1.6 ml/kg and rosuvastatin (1.5 mg/kg) on the‎last 30 days of study period, respectively. serum lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, ldl-‎c, vldl-c, hdl-c, total cholesterol/hdl-c) and serum enzymes (alt, ast, alp, ldh and ck-mb) ‎were performed in each group at the beginning and end of the study. histological study of liver and ‎kidney was done in each group. results: cua (0.8 ml/kg) significantly decreased the serum triglycerides and vldl-c, but cua (1.6 ml/kg) ‎decreased the total serum cholesterol, triglycerides and vldl-c (p < 0.05). higher dose (1.6 ml/kg) of ‎cua also increased hdl-c level, significantly (p < 0.05). cua reduced serum ast, alp and ldh ‎level, which was statistically significant as well, while it also decreased the accumulation of lipid in hepatocytes as ‎compared to sham control.‎ conclusions: cua reduced triglycerides, increased hdl-c and found to be hepatoprotective in ‎animals that are on a high fat diet.