Antihyperlipidemic Components of Cassia auriculata Aerial Parts: Identification Through In Vitro Studies

Cassia auriculata (Caesalpiniaceae) is a common Asian beverage and medicinal plant widely used in tradition medicine for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and various other disease conditions. Previous studies on crude extracts of C. auriculata have documented the scientific basis for some of its traditional medicinal uses. The present study investigates the antilipase activity of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts along with the previously isolated compounds (kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, rutin, kaempferol, quercetin and luteolin). The crude extract displayed inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase with IC50 of 6.0 +/- 1.0 mu g/mL. The most active antilipase compound was kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside with IC50 value (2.9 +/- 0.50 mu M) only about twice weaker than the standard antilipase drug, orlistat (IC50 = 1.45 +/- 0.26 mu M). Luteolin, quercetin and rutin were found to be weak pancreatic lipase inhibitors (IC50 over 100 mu M), whereas kaempferol showed no activity up to 250 mu M. The antihyperlipidemic effect of C. auriculata could be attributed to direct lipase inhibitory effect of the plant constituents. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.