Cardio-and-Hepatoprotective Benefits of Some Spices in Wistar Rats Induced with Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

The increasing reliance on foods sweetened with fructose is of great concern due to its leading role in development of obesity and other related metabolic disorders. Since oxidative stress is one of the pathogenic processes for development of these disorders, this research evaluated the inclusion of antioxidant-rich spices in diet as means of ameliorating dyslipidaemia and liver dysfunction in metabolic syndrome-induced Wistar rats. Thirty rats were induced with metabolic syndrome using 55.43% high-fructose diet, divided into six groups and fed on diets supplemented with 2 % inclusions of ginger, black pepper, garlic, turmeric and a mixture of the spices. Serum lipid profiles, atherogenic indices and indices of liver function were determined. Compared with the control, metabolic syndrome-induced rats fed the spices-supplemented diets had significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of serum cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol which were significantly lower in comparison with the metabolic syndrome-induced rats fed standard diet. The atherogenic index and coronary risk index as well as activities of aspartate aminotransaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl aminotransaminase were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the groups treated with spices-supplemented diets compared with the control, but lower in comparison with the metabolic syndrome-induced rats fed standard diet. There were no significant (p>0.05) variations among groups in levels of serum bilirubin. It is evident that including these spices in diets could alleviate dyslipidaemia and lower serum enzyme activities in metabolic syndrome-induced rats, and could therefore, enhance restoration of heart and liver damages caused by consuming metabolic syndrome-causing diets.