Antioxidant and Atherogenic Foam cell Prevention Ability of Methanol and Aqueous Extract ofEmblica OfficinalisFruits and Its Effect onCD36andABCA1Gene Expression in RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cell Line

Abstract

Different solvent extracts of Emblica officinalis fruits were assessed for antioxidant activity, and it was seen that the methanol and water extracts showed the highest activity. Foam cell formation, the basis of atherosclerotic plaque formation, was prevented by only the methanol and water extracts of Emblica and not by acetone, ethyl acetate and hexane extracts in RAW 264.7 cell lines. Gene expression studies showed that CD36 scavenger receptor expression was downregulated and ABCA1 (cholesterol efflux receptor) expression was upregulated in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner with the upregulation seen at 12 and 24 h time points. High‐performance liquid chromatography analysis for methanol and water extracts showed coumaric acid to be the next abundant compound followed by caffeic acid after myricetin and gallic acid, which were also present in other extracts in high amounts. A high correlation was seen between caffeic acid, gallic acid, coumaric acid and total antioxidant capacity. Practical Applications Emblica officinalis fruits, commonly incorporated in various food products, has been known to be a “wonder fruit” since ancient times and has been known to dissolve atherosclerotic plaque in arteries. However, the precise molecular mechanism of its action has not been elucidated yet. Furthermore, a systematic study of the extraction system is yet to be done. The present work attempts to shed some light on these questions to form a basis for further research on this precious, but under exploited fruit, and also to promote its consumption on a large scale.