Introduction: The medicinal value of Morinda citrifolia L. (commonly known as Noni) has been explored in ancient folk remedies with a wide range of therapeutic utility, including antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumour, analgesic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing effects.
Aim: The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Noni fruit juice on serum lipid profile in high fat diet induced murine model of dyslipidemia.
Materials and methods: Hyperlipidemia was induced by feeding a cholesterol rich high fat diet for 45 days in wistar albino rats of either sex (n=8). Noni fruit juice administered at 50mg/kg/day and 100mg/kg/day, per oral, was compared with the standard drug Atorvastatin (10mg/kg/day, oral) fed for the latter 30 days. The blood samples were then sent for complete blood lipid profile, after 30 days of treatment. The data presented as mean ± SEM was analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test. The p <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: The Noni fruit juice treated group showed a significant decrease in the total cholesterol, triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein - Cholesterol at both the doses when compared to the disease control (p<0.05). However, the decrease in the TC (102.75±9.79 mg/dL) and LDL-C (47.87±7.47 mg/dL) levels observed with the noni fruit juice at the 50mg/kg dose employed, failed to show a statistical significance when compared to atorvastatin.
Conclusion: The present study provides evidence for the hypolipidemic activity of Noni fruit juice in high fat diet induced hyperlipidemia in rats.
Keywords: High density lipoprotein; Hypolipidemic activity; Low density lipoprotein; Noni fruit; Plasma lipids; Total cholesterol; Very Low density lipoprotein.