Abstract
There is a growing interest in medicinal plants in recent years due to their many therapeutic benefits and low side effects. Among the medicinal plants is the African
(baobab) that has edible fruit. In the current study, the effect of
juice consumption on the lipid profile was investigated. In addition, inhibition of the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)
by
essential oil (EO) was also investigated.
In this cohort study, a total of 70 subjects of
users (AD group, 42 male and 28 female) and 70 non
users (Non-AD group, 44 male and 26 female) were recruited to participate in this study. We evaluated lipid profile, HbA1c, liver/kidney functions, and phytosterol contents in fasting blood samples of all participants.
The present findings illustrated significantly lower levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL in the AD group compared to Non-AD (p < 0.01). In addition, essential oil of
inhibited LDL oxidation
as shown by the significant decreases in the formation of malonaldehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), and lipid hydroperoxide (LHP) (P<0.05). No significant changes in fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, HDL, kidney function, and liver function enzymes between the two groups were detected (P>0.05).
The juice of
has hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects and might be beneficial for the management of lipid levels in the body.