Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an edible herb rich in essential oils and polyphenols, including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Meanwhile, Ceratonia siliqua has an outstanding nutritional value mainly attributed to its great amount of dietary fiber and phenolic constituents, which showed significant potential in the prevention of cardiac disorders in addition to decreasing serum cholesterol. Thus, this study determined the antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic and anti-lipoprotein oxidation influences of Ceratonia siliqua aqueous extract (CAE) individually and in combination with Ocimum basilicum rosmarinic acid-rich extract (RAE). This study was conducted both in vitro and in vivo, with hyperlipidemia induced in mice using high-fat diet and Triton WR-1339 serving as experimental models. Results showed that the combination improved plasma and liver lipid profiles. The combination effectively decreased TC, TG, and LDL-c levels by 70.3, 88.4, and 99.4%, respectively, compared to Triton-induced hyperlipidemic control mice, and by 59.79, 74.13, and 97.45%, respectively, compared to animals induced with a high-fat diet. It decreased the atherogenic index (AI) by 99.83% and the LDL-c/HDL-c ratio by 98.91%. It significantly decreased plasma lipoprotein oxidation by 34, 80, and 86.3% at doses of 40, 100, and 400 μg/ml, respectively. In silico studies revealed that chicoric acid, caftaric acid, and rosmarinic acid best fit within the active pocket of ATP citrate lyase (ACL) and C-reactive protein, as evidenced by binding free energies (∆G). The current investigation suggests that the combination of carob and basil, with its high content of rosmarinic acid, phenolic acids, and fibers, has a nutraceutical potential in preventing cardiovascular disease.
Touiss et al. (Sun,) studied this question.