Effects of dietary fiber from cacao bean on blood pressure and lipid metabolism in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract

Cacao bean which is the material of chocolate and cocoa drink, is rich in dietary fiber. We prepared Klason lignins from defatted cacao mass and defatted cacao bean's husk. Cacao mass which is ground from roasted cacao cotyledon, is the material of chocolate and cacao bean's husk in waste material in chocolate industry. The effects of these Klason lignins and defatted cacao bean's husk on blood pressure and lipids metabolism were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Male SHR were kept on a semipurified diet containing 1% NaCl and 3% test samples for 19 days. The mean of blood pressure in the control group increased, but the means of blood pressure in the test sample's groups were significantly lower than that in the control group. The serum total cholesterol levels in the test groups were significantly lower than that on the control group, too. The means of serum HDL-cholesttrol weren't changed significantly, the changes of serum total cholesterol reflected the changes of serum (LDL + VLDL)-cholesterol. There were no significantly differences in serum triacylglyceride and phospholipid, and liver lipids. These results suggest that lignins from cacao bean's husk may suppress the increment of blood pressure and serum levels of total cholesterol as same as lignins from cacao mass. Also cacao bean's husk may be useful as a new source of dietary fiber.