Effects of <i>Pereskia aculeata</i> Miller on the Biochemical Profiles and Body Composition of Wistar Rats

Abstract

Pereskia aculeata Miller commonly known as "ora-pro-nobis" has been used extensively in folclore medicine. Plant belongs to the family Cactacea and it is found in the Brazil (reaching Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul states). The purpose was to evaluate the effects of plant on biochemical and corporal profiles of Wistar rats. The 80 animals were divided randomly into 4 groups by sex (n = 10 females and 10 males per group) as follows: G1 group (water/rat food ad libitum); G2 group (drink A: commercial condensed milk, sugar and water/rat food ad libitum); G3 group (drink B: P. aculeata juice/rat food ad libitum); G4 group (drink C: commercial condensed milk, sugar and P. aculeate juice/rat food ad libitum). After 35 days their biochemical and corporal profiles were analyzed (cholesterol, glycemia, triglycerides, HDL-c, AST, ALT, Lee Index, weight and visceral fat). Intake of the plant caused no changes in the lipid profile of Wistar rats. However, intake in male rats of the same prevented the increase in triglycerides front of a hypercaloric diet. There were significant changes in glycemic index due to the high carbohydrate content of the plant. The plant was effective in reducing the levels of AST and ALT in male rats and ALT only in females. The use of the plant did not cause significant changes in the index of Lee but the Pereskia aculeata Miller may reduce visceral fat gain in female with a regular diet. * Corresponding author. M. S. S. Souza et al. 83

Juice from leaves of cacti of the genus Pereskia: effect on the physiological parameters of Wistar rats

“…The Epididymal Fat Index showed no difference between groups (p>0.05), but the HPa group had a higher visceral fat index than the HW group (Table 2). This result differs from other studies that observed a decrease in the visceral fat of rats fed Pereskia aculeata juice (17) and flour (20) . However, Almeida et al (3) did not found differences regarding the total body lipids of rats fed Pereskia grandifolia flour (5 and 10%) and the hypercaloric diet group.…”

“…The means of Lee's Body Mass Index did not differ (p>0.05) between groups at the end of the study (Figures 3A and 3B), as observed by Souza et al (17) who did not identify differences in the Lee Index among rats (male and female) treated with Pereskia aculeata juice. However, rats fed a hypercaloric diet containing 5 or 10% Pereskia grandifolia flour reduced these Indexes (3) .…”

“…These plants are used to treat some types of cancers, ulcers, inflammation, and edema in Malaysia and India (15,16) , and have promising potential against obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus, by reducing body weight, lipid content (serum, liver, and adipose tissue mass), and blood glucose (3) . Juice from cacti of the genus Pereskia in association with a hypercaloric diet based on condensed milk has been little studied in the metabolism of rats (17) . Thus, this study aimed to evaluate whether the juice from the leaves of cacti of three species of the genus Pereskia promotes changes in the physiological parameters of Wistar rats.…”

Pereskia aculeata Miller Flour: Metabolic Effects and Composition

“…Our search in the literature resulted in only one study where authors investigated the effects of OPN in the metabolic profile. This investigation was performed by Souza et al 7 that evaluated the effects on the biochemical profile of Wistar rats and did not find significant modifications on the lipid profile after the treatment, except for increments in the HDL-c levels. They also did not find significant changes in the Lee Index, but observed significant reduction on the visceral fat gain in animals with regular diet.…”

“…It also contains vitamin C and folic acid and a high content of amino acids, mainly tryptophan. [7][8][9][10] This plant has been described as possessing antiinflammatory and antinociceptive effects and compounds as di-tert-butylphenol isomers, tryptamine, mescaline, petunidin, hordenine, abrine, and quercetin were identified in its leaves. Besides being used as food by poor people, it is also used in popular medicine as laxative, emollients, and to treat skin wounds and inflammation.…”