Effect of Piperine on Lipid Profile of Non-Transgenic Mice

Background: Piperine was isolated from Piper nigrum popularly known as black pepper. There were many studies earlier about piperine that it is powerful bio-enhancer for many drugs especially antibiotics. Piperine extract is believed to potentiate drugs several folds. The present study was focused on its effect individually on biochemical parameters like blood sugar and lipid profile before and after the administration of piperine. Materials and methods: 30 non-transgenic mice, obtained from the animal house of faculty of Medicine, Garyounis University, Benghazi, Libya were utilized for this study. These mice were fed with high cholesterol diet and were divided into 2 groups. 20 mice were administered Piperine with a dose of 5mg/kg body weight (Group I). Piperine was isolated in Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Garyounis University, Benghazi.10 mice were not administered piperine, but given high fat diet (Group II). These mice were anaesthetized with ketamine and halothane and blood was withdrawn from each mouse before study by cardiocentesis. Piperine was administered with high fat diet for 3 weeks for group I mice and only high fat diet given to mice belonging to group II. Blood samples were drawn again after 3 weeks from both the groups. Blood sugar, Serum, Cholesterol, Serum triglycerides and Serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were measured in the Serum using authenticated methods. Results: Blood sugar was significantly elevated (p=0.001) after 3 weeks of administration of the piperine whereas it was decreased in groupB who were not given piperine. Serum cholesterol was significantly elevated (p=0.0025) after 3 weeks administration of piperine with high fat diet. There was no decrease in the cholesterol levels after piperine administration, when compared with that of groupB where the piperine was not administered. Serum triglycerides levels were significantly decreased (p=0.0005) after the administration of piperine but there was no significant difference in other group. HDL cholesterol was significantly elevated (p=0.0032) after administration of piperine and it was not significant (p=0.6553) in the group where no piperine was administered. Conclusion: According to this study, the beneficial effect of piperine appears to be in lowering triglycerides and increasing HDL cholesterol. Further research may show promising results on HDL rise. This study does not shown the role of piperine in reducing blood sugar and total cholesterol