The ethanolic extract of holy basil leaves (Ocimum sanctum L.) attenuates atherosclerosis in high fat diet fed rabbit Free

Atherosclerosis is the etiology of coronary heart disease (CHD) that contributes to the highest mortality rate of non-communicable disease groups in Indonesia. The early stage of this process is marked by the presence of fatty streaks lesion in the artery wall. This study aimed to investigate the effect of holy basil leaves (Ocimum sanctum L.) to suppress the formation of the fatty streak as previous study prove the reduced lipid levels, ROS, and inflammation after treated with this extract. 25 adult male New Zealand rabbits age 4-month weight 2500-3000 g fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and 10 mg/kgBW/day Holy Basil Extract (HBE), 25 mg/kgBW/day HBE, 50 mg/kgBW/day HBE. The negative control group was received only HFD. For the experimental standard, one group provided with standard diet rabbits were included. The fatty streak was measured in aorta wall after 45 days of treatment by immunohistochemistry method and quantified using Image J software. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the fatty streak area between each group (p > 0.05). Still, there was a trend of decreasing fatty streak area dose dependent manner (negative control 5802.21+3690.41 µm², P1 5154.69 + 3990.79 µm², P2 4938.31 + 3690.18 µm², and P3 3611.68 + 4092.96 µm²) even though it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). This paper conclude that holy basil leaves extract may exert anti-atherosclerosis inhibition through attenuation of fatty streak formation.