Potential Hypocholesterolemic Activity of Flour from Leaves of Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.)

Introduction: Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) leaves contain phytosterols and dietary fibres which may be beneficial in controlling blood cholesterol levels. This study was aimed at assessing the hypocholesterolemic effect of flour from leaves of M. oleifera L. (MLF) with white and red stalk in rats. Methods: Thirty male rats were divided into 6 groups, comprising a normal group (negative control), a hypercholestrolemic group (positive control) both of which were without MLF feeding, and 4 hypercholesterolemic groups fed MLF for 4 weeks in the following manner: (i) 0.822 mg/g bw/d white stalk (WM); (ii) 0.822 mg/g bw/d red stalk (RM); (iii) 0.02 ml/g bw/d commercial plant stanol ester (FS); and (iv) 0.001 mg/g bw/d ezetimibe (ET). At the end, serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-c), viscosity and pH of digesta, faecal cholesterol, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were analysed. Results: TC levels in the WM, RM, FS and ET groups decreased by 42.0, 48.8, 48.4 and 52.8% respectively, compared to initial levels. The four groups also showed decreases in serum LDL-c levels by 30.3, 39.2, 37.9 and 46.7% respectively, over the feeding period. Faecal cholesterol levels of WM and RM were higher (63.93?±1.87 and 90.11?±1.77 mg/100 g faeces, respectively) than that of the positive control (51.30?±4.03 mg/100 g) after 4 weeks. Conclusion: Flour from moringa leaves of white and red stalk trees showed potential hypocholesterolemic activity in ra

Plasma CRH Level Difference Between Wistar Rats Exposed To Acute Stress Due To Predator And To The Psychological Stress Device

Objective: Stress triggers and causes psychiatric disorders. This study compared stress generated by different stressors: a cat as the predator of rats and a Psychological Stress Device (PSD) which was developed and modified by the researchers based on the model by Xu and Rocher. Methods: Twenty-eight Wistar rats were simple randomly divided into one control group and six treatment groups, each consisting of 4 rats. Each treatment group was individually exposed to stressor for 30, 60, and 90 minutes. The first three treatment groups were treated using the PSD while the other three treatment groups were treated exposed to the cat. Plasma CRH level was measured using the ELISA (Cusabio) method. Result: Plasma CRH levels in the rat exposed to stressor using the PSD ranged from 9.89 to 50.22 ng/mL, higher than plasma CRH level in the groups exposed to cat ranged from 0.22 to 23.44 ng/mL with significance level (p0.05). Conclusion: Plasma CRH level of the rats exposed to stressor using the PSD was higher and positively correlate with the length of exposure compared to those exposed to cat.