This study aims to investigate the protective effect of Cyphomandra betacea in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats fed with high fat diet. Rats were fed on either normal chow or high fat diet for 10 weeks for obesity induction phase and subsequently received C. betacea extract at low dose (150 mg kg−1), medium dose (200 mg kg−1), or high dose (300 mg kg−1) or placebo via oral gavages for another 7 weeks for treatment phase. Treatment of obese rats with C. betacea extracts led to a significant decrease in total cholesterol and significant increase in HDL-C (p < 0.05). Also there was a trend of positive reduction in blood glucose, triglyceride, and LDL-C with positive reduction of body weight detected in medium and high dosage of C. betacea extract. Interestingly, C. betacea treated rats showed positive improvement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity along with a significant increase of total antioxidant status (TAS) (p < 0.05). Further, rats treated with C. betacea show significantly lower in TNF-α and IL-6 activities (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates the potential use of Cyphomandra betacea extract for weight maintenance and complimentary therapy to suppress some obesity complication signs.

Minimally refined brown sugar (MRBS) is a brown sugar derived from sugarcane that has a low glycemic index. This study aimed to determine and compare the antioxidant contents and nutritional and physicochemical properties of MRBS, refined sugar (RS), and brown sugar (BS). In addition, the toxicity of these sugars was evaluated via in vitro cytotoxicity method and by using a zebrafish model. Results showed that MRBS was better than the two other sugars because it has a lower moisture content and higher ash content. The contents of potassium and manganese of MRBS were higher than those of the two other sugars. Surprisingly, MRBS also contained selenium, which was not detected in RS and BS. The major phenolics in MRBS are 4‐hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, trans‐Ferulic acid, and apigenin. All sugar solutions and their antioxidant‐containing extracts were not cytotoxic to 3T3‐L1 adipocytes.

BackgroundMangosteen is a native fruit from Southeast Asia. It is rich in phenolic compounds such as xanthones, anthocyanins and phenolic acids. Mangosteen pericarp extract showed inhibitory activity towards pancreatic lipase and may have potential use for obesity treatment. However, there is limited study on the beneficial effects of mangosteen flesh against obesity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Garcinia mangostana flesh (GMF) on biochemical and morphological changes in the liver and kidney of high-fat diet-induced obese rats.MethodsForty healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomised into five groups (n = 8) with four groups were fed with high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks and a control group was fed with rat chow diet. Supplementation with GMF in obese rats was continued for 7 weeks starting from week 10th after the initiation of HFD at different doses (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg). The positive and negative control rats were given distilled water via oral gavage. Plasma lipid profile, antioxidant enzymes and pro-inflammatory markers were determined using commercial kits. Liver and kidney structure were defined by histology.ResultsThe rats fed with HFD for 10 weeks increased plasma LDL-cholesterol, reduced plasma glutathione peroxidase level and had significantly higher body weight compared to normal control rats (p < 0.05). Obese rats also showed elevated level of TNF-α and IL-6 after 17 weeks of HFD. Supplementation with GMF for 7 weeks in obese rats reduced their body weight, improved lipid profile, increased total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase level and lowered plasma pro-inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6) (p < 0.05). In addition, GMF supplementation attenuated the abnormalities of the liver and kidney tissue caused by high fat diet.ConclusionTaken together, the findings suggest that supplementation of Garcinia mangostana flesh may help in reducing body weight and has the potential to ameliorate the biochemical changes of the high fat diet-induced obesity in rats. Further studies on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic are required before the results are translated to human.

Dabai pulp oil (DPO) is new oil extracted from the pulp of Canarium odontophyllum. The quality and efficacy of DPO are needed to promote its potential as a new alternative fat. Therefore, we investigate the quality of DPO, which includes moisture and volatile content (MVC), free fatty acid content (FFA), iodine value (IV), and peroxide value (PV). Furthermore, we evaluate the efficacy of DPO against hypercholesterolemia elicited by a high-cholesterol diet in rats. The MVC of DPO was <0.001 ± 0.00%. Next, the FFA in DPO was 2.57 ± 0.03%, and the IV of DPO was 53.74 ± 0.08 g iodine/100 g oil. Meanwhile, the PV of DPO was 4.97 ± 0.00 mEq/kg. Supplementation of DPO in hypercholesterolemic rats for 30 days revealed the hypocholesterolemic effect (significant reduction of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase) accompanied by a significant reduction of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α), and lipid peroxidation (MDA). We also observed a significant improvement of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and antioxidant capacities (total antioxidant status, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase) of the rats. The results on the quality and efficacy of locally made DPO suggest its potential use as a healthy alternative fat in the future.

Production of dabai ( Canarium odontophyllum) pulp oil by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is still relatively new and should be investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extracted dabai pulp oil (DPO) on rats induced with hypercholesterolemia. Male-specific pathogen free (SPF) Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with diets with high cholesterol contents for 4 weeks to induce hypercholesterolemia. Afterwards, the hypercholesterolemia rats were divided into groups namely: positive control group (PG), low dose group (LG), high dose group (HG), and statin group (SG). 0.5% and 2% of SC-CO2 DPO were administered to the LG and HG groups respectively for another 4 weeks. Changes in body weight and biochemistry profiles were measured. When compared with the normal rats that were fed with a normal basal diet, the hypercholesterolemia rats had elevated body weights and major increments in total cholesterol and LDL levels(NG) ( p<0.05). Paired-samples t-tests showed that the LG group exhibited a notable reduction in total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL levels ( p<0.05) and an 8.26% increment in HDL level. Meanwhile, diminishing levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL levels were found in the HG group. Notable differences in AST and ALT levels were not detected in LG and HG groups when compared with the NG group. These results indicated that SC-CO2dabai pulp oil contains vital elements which contribute to cholesterol-loweringeffects and which can be used as special oils for health promotion and disease prevention.