Comparison between Fenugreek and Lovastatin in restoration of endothelial function in an experimental old rat model

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) with that of lovastatin in restoration of endothelia function in the aorta taken form aged N-Mair rats. For this purpose, 4 groups of old N-Mari rats were used (n=6), normal saline treated control group, lovastatin (10 mg/kg, orally) and fengreek seed powder in normal saline suspension (100 or 500 mg/kg) were administered orally daily for 8 weeks. The rate of relaxation of ephedrine- precontracted aorta to acetycholine, the lipid profiles, and histological examinations of the aorta were compared between these two groups and with a control non-treated normal saline treated group. The results showed that treatment with lovastatin and fenugreek produced significant reduction in IDL, VLDL triglyceride and total cholesterol, while HDL was increased as compared to control non-treated group. Lovastatin induced an increase in contraction/mg tissue weight. However, improvement in endothelial function was significantly increased in all treatment groups. The histological findings showed significant reduction in thickness and lipid deposits in the aorta in all treatment groups. The improvement in the epithelial function was correlated with LDL-cholesterol lowering and partly with the reduction in the thickness of the aortic intimal layer. This study demonstrated that fenugreek is as effective as lovastatin in reducing the features associated with atherosclerosis.