Hyperlipidemia, manifested as hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia, is a condition characterized by a decrease in HDL levels with an increase in one or more of plasma lipids, including triglycerides cholesterol, cholesterol esters, phospholipids, and/or plasma lipoproteins including VLDL and LDL. It is also a major problem leading to obesity, stroke, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, degenerative joint disease and circulatory disease and has become one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current anti-hyperlipidemic therapies mainly include statins and fibrates. These drugs used firstly inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis and correct the changed blood lipid profile. Secondly, it acts by increasing the clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. In addition to hepatotoxicity, myopathy, rhabdomyolysis and some undesirable side effects during pregnancy have also been reported. While these side effects limit the use of statins in hyperlipidemia, they also support the research of medicinal plant products with hypolipidemic-phyto-active compounds. The study of plants is a useful strategy for the emergence of new molecules that have an important and enhanced effect on lipid metabolism. For this reason, in the current study, considering the many beneficial effects of walnuts supported by the literature, the unused part of the walnut seed skin (WSS) is focused on. It was investigated whether ethanolic extraction of walnut seed skin (E-WSS) had a protective effect in male Wistar-Albino rats in which hyperlipidemia was induced. The histopathological evaluation of the effects of E-WSS on kidney tissue, the content of which was defined by GC-MS in our previous study, was performed in this study. In the analysis, it was concluded that E-WSS extract had a significant protective effect on the kidney tissue of rats with hyperlipidemia when compared to the healthy control group. When the final evaluation was made, a contribution was made to the literature on the use of a natural compound that does not show toxic effects against hyperlipidemia.
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