Abstract :
Several herbs have been used among the public as part of the tradition medicine. In this study we have used the fenugreek-seeds powder with inulin to form a cocktail diet to study the combined hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic effects of this natural diet when tested in hypercholesterolemic-induced rats. In hypercholesterolemic rats, inulin orally administered in a dose of 200mg/kg b.w./day for 6 weeks significantly decreased the plasma total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides and phospholipids. However, a dose of 200mg powdered fenugreek/kg h.w./day for 6 weeks significantly reduced the plasma glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides and total lipids in hypercholesterolemic rats, The combination of inulin and fenugreek has synergistic effect to improve lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic rats through the highly significantly reduction in total cholesterol, LDL-C, atherogenic indexes, triglycerides and total lipids in contrast to HDL-C which was highly significantly increased. Therefore, dietary intake of fenugreek with inulin is beneficial in the management of hyperlipidemia and the prevention of atherosclerosis mid coronary artery disease.
