treatment of hypercholesterolemia: screening of solanum macrocarpon linn (solanaceae) as a medicinal plant in benin

objective: hypercholesterolemia is the greatest risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. the present study is conducted to evaluate the lipid lowering activity of leaves and fruits of solanum macrocarpon, a vegetable, on wistar rats experimentally rendered hypercholesterolemic by triton x-100. materials and methods: the leaves and fruits were administered (p.o.) for 7 days to rats at doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg of body weight. atorvastatin was used as reference treatment drug. the data were analyzed by the brown-forsythe anova, dunnett’s t3 multiple comparison test, and dunnett’s t test. all tests were done at the 5% significance level. results: administration of s. macrocarpon (fruits as well as leaves) resulted in a statistically significant decrease in total cholesterol, ldl-cholesterol, vldl-cholesterol, and triglycerides in the treated groups compared with the untreated hypercholesterolemic group, regardless of the administrated doses. a significant increase in hdl-cholesterol was observed in the treated groups. hepatic disorders due to the triton have been corrected by s. macrocarpon. conclusions: this vegetable effectively suppresses experimental hypercholesterolemia in wistar rats, suggesting a protective role in cardiovascular diseases. its use by individuals at risk should be promoted.