Since ancient time, Emblica officinalis (E. officinalis) is being used for the management of various ailments.
Phytochemical analysis proves that fruit juice of E. officinalis contains high amount
gallic acid, which could be responsible for medicinal potentials. Hence in this study,
gallic acid and fruit juice of E. officinalis were evaluated for anti-hyperlipidemic potential in various experimental animal models. Experimentally,
hyperlipidemia was induced through administration of poloxamer-407,
tyloxapol and high-fat-diet supplement in rats. Treatment with
gallic acid as well as fruit juice of E. officinalis decreased plasma
cholesterol and reduced oil infiltration in liver and aorta. Mechanistically, E. officinalis increased
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-α (PPARα) expression and increased activity of
lipid oxidation through
carnitine palmitoyl
transferase (
CPT) along with decreased activity of hepatic lipogenic
enzymes i.e.
glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD),
fatty acid synthase (FAS) and malic
enzyme (ME). Additionally, E. officinalis increased
cholesterol uptake through increased
LDL-receptor expressions on hepatocytes and decreased
LDL-receptor degradation due to decreased
proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) expression. Simultaneously, E. officinalis showed ability to restore
glucose homeostasis through increased Glut4 and PPARγ
protein expression in adipose tissue. These findings exposed central role of
gallic acid in E. officinalis arbitrated anti-hyperlipidemic action through upregulation of PPARs, Glut4 and lipogenic
enzymes, and decreased expression of PCSK9 and lipogenic
enzymes. Findings from this experiment demonstrated that E. officinalis is a potential
therapy for management of
hyperlipidemia and
gallic acid could be a potential lead candidate.