Elham Esmaeil jamaat - MSc student,Department of physiology, Shahed university, Tehran, Iran
Gholam Ali Naderi - Associate professor, Department of Biochemistry, Shahed university, Tehran, Iran
Mehrdad Roghani - Full professor,Neurophysiology Research Center, Shahed university, Tehran, Iran
Ashkan Sanaeirad - MSc student,Department of physiology, Shahed university, Tehran, Iran

Background: High dietary cholesterol causes hypercholesterolemia. This phenomenon is generally characterized by an increase in the cholesterol. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a marker for many disorders. It originates from bone and liver. High serum activities of ALP have seen in hypercholesterolemia. Medicinal plants have a long history in treating blood disorders, which are one of the most common problems in today s advanced world. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a medicinal plant with a high content of polyphenols and methanol has antilipidemia properties. Fennel has protective effects on the liver by decreasing ALP levels. Objectives: The present study demonstrates the effect of Foeniculum vulgar in the treatment of hyper cholesterolemia and decreasing serum ALP. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 28 male rats(150-170g) were divided to four different groups having 7 rats in each group as: group A (control), group B (control + extract), group C (high fat diet), group D (high fat + extract). Cand D were fed by high fat pellet(1% cholesterol and 2% triglyceride) for 8 weeks. A and B were fed normal rats pellet. The extract of seeds was administered through intraperitoneal route at a dose of 150 mg/kg body weight. The extract was administrated once daily and continued up to 3 weeks to B and D groups. Bodyweight was monitored every week. The blood samples were collected by Sino-orbital puncture. In this blood samples; ALP was determined in a spectrophotometer. The data was analyzed using ANOVA. Results: ALP level was significantly increased in C group as compared to A group rats and ALP levels in D group significantly decreased compared with C group. Conclusion: The results from the present investigation indicate that treatment with Foeniculum vulgar protects the liver and bone from damage of high cholesterol in rats.

Alkaline phosphatase, Extract of Foeniculum, Hypercholesterolemia, Rat