en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong>Background:</strong> The present study aimed to assess the phenolic content and in-vitro antioxidant capacity of the petroleum ether extract of nutmeg, as well as its antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activities in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> Forty-eight male rats were allocated into six groups of eight each: non-diabetic control, diabetic control, and diabetic rats receiving 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of the nutmeg petroleum ether extract or 100 mg/kg metformin. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the extract was determined using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride colorimetric methods, respectively.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> The nutmeg extract contained considerable levels of phenols (112.41 mg GAE/100 g) and flavonoids (26.12 mg QE/100 g) and showed a remarkable scavenging effect on the DPPH radicals with the IC50 value of 123.36 𝜇g/ml. The administration of the nutmeg extract (100 and 200 mg/kg) to the diabetic rats caused a significant reduction in the serum levels of malondialdehyde, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein, while a significant increase was observed in the total antioxidant capacity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol serum levels.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> According to the results, nutmeg extract is an abundant source of natural antioxidants, which might have beneficial effects on patients with diabetes mellitus develop educational packages.</span></span></div> Diabetic rats, Myristica fragrans, Extract, Total phenols, Oxidative stress 91 96 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-329-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Afsaneh Pashapoor pashapoor_af@yahoo.com 10031947532846009954 10031947532846009954 No Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Seeyamak Mashhadyrafie sr1vet@yahoo.com 10031947532846009955 10031947532846009955 Yes Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Pejman Mortazavi sp.mortazavi@gmail.com 10031947532846009956 10031947532846009956 No Department of Pathology, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.