Assessing the effectiveness of a DASH diet in hypertensive patients attending the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital - Cameroon: a case-control study.

Hypertension remains a public health issue in Cameroon, though lifestyle and dietetic measures are the main approaches for the prevention and management of hypertension. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet using local foodstuffs on the status of hypertensive patients at the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital. A case-control study was carried out with 160 hypertensive patients divided into two groups, a test and a control group. A food questionnaire was used to evaluate the food habits of patients and design the sheet of the DASH diet to provide a maximum of 2000 kcal/d. The DASH diet was administered to the test group (eighty-eight patients), while the control group (seventy-two patients) consumed their normal diet. Both groups were followed up for 8 weeks. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP), body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, HDL-c, LDL-c and total-cholesterol levels of patients of the two groups were measured before and after the intervention. The results indicate that the DASH diet improves all the markers of hypertension in the test group with significant decreases in BMI, SBP, DBP, LDL-c and total-cholesterol. Patients of the control group had fourteen and seven times more risk of having increased systolic and diastolic pressures, respectively, and are thus exposed to hypertension complications. The DASH diet established in this study is therefore effective for the management of hypertension.

Effects of age and extraction solvent on phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of fresh Moringa oleifera L. leaves.

Antioxidant activity (AOA) and phytochemical content of Moringa oleifera Lam leaves were determined as a function of their age and extraction solvent. Fresh Moringa leaves aged 30, 45, and 60 days were harvested and extracted with three solvents; methanol, ethanol, and water. AOA of leaf extracts was measured using radical scavenging assays (DPPH, ABTS, antiperoxide activity [APA]) and reducing assays (FRAP and total antioxidant capacity [TAC]), and these were correlated with total polyphenols (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), and chlorophyll contents of leaves. Significant variability (p < 0.05) in TPC and AOA of Moringa leaf extracts was observed with age and extraction solvent as well as their interaction. TPC and TFC increased with maturity, except in aqueous extract. The 60-day-old leaves showed highest TPC, TFC, and tocopherol contents with highest DPPH activity. On their part, 30-day-old leaves recorded better vitamin C, chlorophyll, and carotenoids with highest ABTS activity and APA. Methanol was best extraction solvent for TPC (4.6 g GAE/100 g DM) while ethanol was for flavonoids (1.8 g CE/100 g DM). Ethanol extracts exhibited the highest DPPH activity (53.3%-71.1%), while both ethanolic and methanolic extracts had similar and higher ABTS + activity (3.83-3.86 g AAE/100 g DM). Strong positive correlations (r ≥ 0.8; p < 0.05) were observed between chlorophyll content and DPPH, ABTS, and APA, suggesting that chlorophyll was the major contributor to AOA. TAC was highest in aqueous solvent. Free radical scavenging activity in Moringa leaves is positively correlated to chlorophyll, TFC, and TPC while reducing power is positively correlated to chlorophyll and TPC. AOA of fresh Moringa leaf extract is a function of its phytochemical content and is influenced by both the age of the leaves and the extraction solvent used. Methanolic and ethanolic extracts of 45-day-old Moringa leaves exhibited best antioxidant potentials.