Ameliorative Effects of Curcumin and Ginger on Hyperlipidemia – Induced Osmotic Fragility and Phospholipids Composition Changes of Erythrocytes in Albino Rats

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the erythrocytic changes caused by hyperlipidemia in rats and to evaluate the possible protective effects of curcumin and ginger supplementation. Forty male albino rats were assigned into four equal groups. Group I (control group), rats were fed basal diet. Group II (high-fat diet, HFD group), rats were fed HFD. Group III (curcumin supplemented HFD group), rats were fed HFD contain 0.2% curcumin. Group IV (ginger supplemented HFD group), rats were fed HFD contain 4% ginger. After 2 months, blood samples were collected from retroorbital venous plexus for determination of osmotic fragility of erythrocytes, membrane phospholipids composition and serum lipid profiles. The obtained results revealed that feeding HFD to rats significantly increased serum TC, TAG, LDL-C and phospholipid (phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl inositol) concentrations and significantly decreased hemolysis % at 0.4 and 0.5 % Na Cl concentrations as compared with control group. Whereas these changes ameliorated by dietary supplementation of curcumin and ginger as feeding HFD supplemented with 0.2% curcumin or 4% ginger significantly decreased TC, TAG, LDL-C and phospholipid concentrations and significantly increased hemolysis % at 0.4 and 0.5 % Na Cl concentrations as compared with high fat diet fed group. We concluded that supplementation with ginger and curcumin to HFD rats resulted in a significant decrease in serum lipid concentration, lowering membrane phospholipid and beneficially decreased mean cell fragility of erythrocytes thus restored the normality of erythrocyte fluidity in high fat diet fed rats