The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of quince fruit powder and dill leaves extract in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia induced experimentally by feeding male albino rats with 0.5% w/w cholesterol in diet for 4 weeks. The results revealed that the cholesterol-fed rats were characterized by high serum levels of total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and VLDL- cholesterol, as well as a low level of HDL-cholesterol. Also an elevation in LDL/ HDL–cholesterol and a reduction in HDL-cholesterol /total cholesterol ratio. The present results also recorded highly significant increase in the indicative enzymes of hepatic and cardiac activities, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (AST), and creatine kinase (CK) in hypercholesterolemia rats. Moreover, the hypercholesterolemia diet produced oxidative stress as achieved by significant increase in liver and heart thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) indicating increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO), in addition, a significant decrease in liver and heart glutathione content (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). However, the dietary supplementation with quince (10 % w/w in diet) or orally administration of dill at a dose of 50 mg/kg BW/ day for 4 weeks to hypercholesterolemic rats, showed a remarkable amelioration in the lipid profiles, hepatic and cardiac enzymes activities as well as oxidative stress markers. Hence the present findings give an overview about the beneficially intake of quince or dill for treating the dyslipidemia and oxidative stress and will provide a potential scope for future use of quince and dill as hypocholesterolemic agents.
Key words: Quince (Cydonia oblonga), Dill (Anethum graveolens), Hypercholesterolemia, Oxidative stress.
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