European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF FUNCTIONAL MILK BEVERAGE AS HYPOLIPIDEMIC AND ANTIOXIDANT AGENT ON HIGH-FAT-DIET- INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN RATS

Manal A. Hamed*, Samah M. El-Sayed, Heba H. Salama and M. M. El-Sayed

ABSTRACT

Abnormal lipid metabolism is a main cause of dyslipidaemia, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, obesity, cholestasis, and overall mortality. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the previously prepared functional milk beverage fortified with kiwi pulp and sesame oil as hypolipidemic and antioxidant agent in hypercholesterolemic rats. The evaluation was down through measuring total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST & ALT), alkaline phospaahatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and total protein content. The evaluation was extended to observe the histopathological changes in rats liver after treatment. The results revealed that treatment with the milk beverage significantly (p<0.0001) decreased TC, LDL-C, TG, SOD, MDA, AST, ALT, ALP and GGT levels, while GSH, HDL-C and total protein contents were significantly increased. The noticeable improvement in the liver architecture confirmed our results. In conclusion, the functional milk beverage is considered to be a hypolipidemic and antioxidant agent due to its enrichment with phenolic compounds, vitamin C and E. Further studies are needed to explore its role for human health.

Keywords: Functional milk beverage; hyercholesterolemia; antioxidants; liver histopathology.