ABSTRACT
Sixty (60) albino rats of the wistar strain were used to investigate the effect different vegetables extracts modified diets; shared into two groups, one part fed with high sucrose diet while others were fed with normal ratchow. Lipid profile status were analysed in the plasma, brain and kidney after four weeks of feeding. The brain revealed a significant (p and Total cholestertol while HDL was significantly decreased (p Therefore, moderate consumption of vegetable extracts with high sucrose diets can modulate lipid profile levels.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Consumption of healthy diets prevents health problems in the body. Obtaining food substance for the usefulness of the body is referred to as nutrition. So also, when the food consumed by human beings lacks enough nutrients, it can result into malnutrition (Robinson et al., 1900; Williams, 1993). Human beings fully rely on plants for foods, shelter, clothing and medicines for survival. Large varieties of vegetable plants are consumed by man and are used in producing drugs and chemicals (Hutchinson and Dalziel, 1993). Vegetable plants are generally succulent parts of plants which are grown in gardens and consumed as a side dish with starchy staples (Guarino, 1995). Green leafy vegetables are important protective food and highly beneficial for the maintenance of health and prevention of diseases. They contain valuable food ingredients which can be utilized to build up and repair the body. Green leafy vegetables constitute an indispensable constituent of human diet in West Africa and in Africa as a whole (Chima and Igyor, 2007). In the South Western parts of Nigeria, vegetables like bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) and pumpkin leaf (Telfairia occidentalis) are widely consumed and used for various medicinal purposes. The nutrient content of different types of vegetables varies considerably and they are not major sources of carbohydrates compared to the starchy foods which form the bulk of food eaten, but contain vitamins, essential amino acids, as well as minerals and antioxidants (Mnzava, 1997; Fasuyi, 2006). According to Okafor (1983), vegetables are the cheapest and most available sources of important proteins, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. Plant extracts are consistently being used as an alternative form of medicinal treatment to orthodox medicine and it has either positive or negative effects on different organs of the body, (Burton and Ingold, 1994) one of which is kidney.
Kidneys are essential for both excretory and osmoregulatory functions. They remove nitrogenous wastes and control of the amount of water, salts (sodium, potassium and chloride ions) and acids (hydrogen and hydrogencarbonate ions) (Masaba, 2000). Kidneys have regulatory mechanisms which maintain water, salt and pH balance of the blood which occurs at the distal tubules and collecting ducts (Sarojini, 1990). Lipids and other substances accumulate on arterial wall, forming plague, which occlude the vascular lumen and obstruct the blood flow to vital organs such as the heart, brain, liver, or kidney (Edionwe and Kies, 2001). Obstruction of blood supply to the heart, brain, liver or kidney cause coronary heart diseases, stroke or kidney failure, as the case may be.
Aims of Research
In view of antioxidant potentials of vegetables, this study is aimed at investigating the effect of the processing methods (Juice and Shaft) on oxidative stress induced by high sucrose diet. The objectives of this study are;
· To investigate the toxicological activities of Lipid profile (Triglyceride, Cholesterol, HDL and LDL, and to
· To compare the toxicological effects of both Juice and Shaft processing methods, on Plasma and Kidney.