Effect of okra seed in reduction of cholesterol

Abstract

The present study the effect of okra seed supplementation on serum lipid profile of hypercholesterolemia induced rat in Varanasi city at Banaras Hindu University Department of Zoology, Uttar Pradesh for a period of 42 days during year 2017. Okra seed (dry) were, grinded and administered at dose of 250grams and 500 grams as low dose and high dose. Administration of okra seed powder of 250 gm (low dose) and 500 grams (high dose) for 42 days produces significant (P<0.001) reduction of serum LDL cholesterol and in body weight reduction in hyperlipidemia. The present study conform that okra seed powder is effective for lipid lowering.

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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(4): 94-97
E-ISSN: 2320-7078
P-ISSN: 2349-6800
JEZS 2017; 5(4): 94-97
© 2017 JEZS
Received: 12-05-2017
Accepted: 13-06-2017
Poorva Dubey
Research Scholar, School for
Home Sciences, Babasaheb
Bhimrao Ambedkar University
(A Central University) Vidya
Vihar Lucknow, India
Sunita Mishra
Professor, School for Home
Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao
Ambedkar University (A Central
University) Vidya Vihar
Lucknow, India
Correspondence
Poorva Dubey
Research Scholar, School for
Home Sciences, Babasaheb
Bhimrao Ambedkar University
(A Central University) Vidya
Vihar Lucknow, India
Effect of okra seed in reduction of cholesterol
Poorva Dubey and Sunita Mishra
Abstract
The present study the effect of okra seed supplementation on serum lipid profile of hypercholesterolemia
induced rat in Varanasi city at Banaras Hindu University Department of Zoology, Uttar Pradesh for a
period of 42 days during year 2017. Okra seed (dry) were, grinded and administered at dose of 250grams
and 500 grams as low dose and high dose. Administration of okra seed powder of 250 gm (low dose) and
500 grams (high dose) for 42 days produces significant (P<0.001) reduction of serum LDL cholesterol
and in body weight reduction in hyperlipidemia. The present study conform that okra seed powder is
effective for lipid lowering.
Keywords: LDL, lipid, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia
Introduction
Lipid is the scientific term for the word “fat” in blood [1]. At proper levels, Lipids perform
important functions in your body, but can cause health problems if they are present in excess
[1]. Hyperlipidemia is a heterogeneous group disorder characterized by elevated lipid levels in
blood stream than normal. There is an increased risk of atherogenesis and coronary artery
disease with hyperlipidemia. Lipids do not dissolve in water. Being water insoluble, plasma
lipids are transported in blood as several classes of lipoproteins [1].
Hyperlipidemia is a condition of elevated lipid level in blood. Hyperlipidemia is a major cause
of atherosclerosis and atherosclerosis related conditions like coronary heart disease (CHD),
ischemic cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease and pancreatitis1-2 [2]. The
increase in lipids like low density lipoproteins (LDL), cholesterol (esters derivatives) and
triglycerides are mainly responsible for this condition [2].
A number of diseases are associated with non-optimal cholesterol levels [3]. Cholesterol is
thought to amplify and accelerate atherosclerosis, and influence CHD and ischemic stroke
events, but the exact mechanisms are unclear [3]. It has been proposed that cholesterol,
particularly LDL cholesterol which accounts for about 60% of total cholesterol in the
circulation, is taken up by macrophages [3]. When cholesterol levels are high, macrophages
take up more cholesterol than they can metabolize and become “foam cells”. These cells are
important in the early stages of athermanous plaque formation [3].
Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterol and
triglycerides are the major lipids in the blood [4]. People with diabetes an impaired glucose
tolerance (IGT) are at a risk of have in much LDL cholesterol in their blood, putting them at a
high risk of developing heart disease and circulation problems [4]. Increase in levels of LDL-
cholesterol and Triglycerides are usually treated with a combination of healthy eating and
increasing physical activity. The doctor prescribes medication if high level persists [4]. The
present study was conduct to check the effectively of okra seed in reduction of LDL
cholesterol.
Materials and Methods
Area of study
The present study was conducted in Varanasi city at Banaras Hindu University Department of
Zoology, Uttar Pradesh. The study period is of 42 days in year 2017 (October – November).
Collection of raw materials
Dry okra seeds used was purchased from Local market of Lucknow City. The cleaning of okra
seed was performed manually to remove damaged seeds, dust particles, seeds of other
grains/crops and other impurities such as metals and weeds. The okra seed grains in the
household mixer.

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Animals and experimental design
Animals and Maintenance: Male albino rats (180 – 200gm)
were selected for the study. They were of the same age and
weight. The rats were housed in polycarbonate clean cages
under a 12 /12 h normal light/dark cycle. The animals were
fed with standard diet and water ad libitum. After keeping in
the laboratory condition for a week for acclimatization the
experiment was initiated. The study protocol was approved by
Institutional Ethical Committee, Committee for the Purpose of
Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals
(CPCSEA) Registration no. 1802/GO/ Re/S/15/CPCSEA of
Faculty of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.
Preparation of High fat Diet for Inducing
Hypercholesterolemia
For the preparation of high fat diet 5 raw eggs were boiled
and 30 grams of egg yolk was separated and mixed with
75gm of wheat flour. 30 gram of butter was added with the
egg yolk and wheat flour mixture and water was added to the
mixture to make pellets and dried in laboratory oven at 40 C
for overnight. The food prepared was kept in the refrigerator
below 20 C to prevent spoilage.
Induction of Hypercholesterolemia in Rats
The high fat diet prepared was given to the rats for the
induction of cholesterol in rats. The high fat diet was
distributed equally among test groups for a period of 30 days
and the rats of each group were sacrificed at 31st day after
overnight fasting for confirmation of
hypercholesterolemia. Rats were sacrificed for confirmation
of hypercholesterolemia. Further they were divided into
following groups-
Group I: The rats were given normal diet and water ad
libitum.
Group II: The rats were given high fat diet and water ad
libitum.
Group III: There were 20 rats taken in this group. They were
also fed with high cholesterol and fat rich diet and water ad
libitum. The group was further divided into two subgroups
(n=10) in each group as low okra seed group (given 250 mg
of flaxseed/kg body weight/rat/day) and high flaxseed group
(given 500 mg of flaxseed/kg body weight/rat/day) for a
period of 42 days.
Biochemical analysis
Body weights were recorded biweekly and at the end of the
stipulated period, the animals were kept for overnight fasting
and sacrificed. The blood was collected from heart. About 2-3
ml of blood sample was collected and centrifuged at 2500 rpm
for 25 minutes to separate serum. The serum was stored at -
20°C until the analysis. From the collected blood serum, the
biochemical marker such as Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)
was determined by using ENZOPAK reagent kit [5].
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was done by SPSS Version 20. Results
were expressed as Means±SD and the difference between the
groups were tested by one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and the significance level was calculated. The
p<0.001 were considered as statistically very highly
significant.
Results
Administration of high fat diet causes significant increase in
blood LDL cholesterol level and body weight. However, after
the treatment of hyperlipidemic rats with 250mg/kg b.w and
500mg/kg b.w of okra seed for 42 days, the blood LDL
cholesterol level significantly decreases and body weight also
reduced compared with the levels of untreated rats as shown
in Table 1 & 2. Administration of okra seed results in the
reduction of LDL cholesterol as well as body weight.
On 14th day after intervention, negative control group had
significantly lower mean value as compared to all the other
groups. The order of body weight at this interval was as
follows:
Negative Control > High dose ~ Low Dose ~ Positive Control
On 28th day after intervention, all the between group
differences were significant. The order of body weight at this
interval was as follows:
Positive Control > Negative control > Low Dose > High dose
On between group comparison of LDL levels mean difference
was found to be maximum between Positive controls and
High dose and minimum between Negative control and high
dose groups. All the between group differences except that
between negative controls and high dose groups were
significant statistically (p<0.001). On the basis of above
evaluation, the following order of blood LDL levels was
observed:
Table 1: Comparisons of body weight in different groups for hypercholesterolemic.
Time Interval Negative Control
(N=10) (Mean±SD) Positive Control
(N=10) (Mean±SD) Low dose
(N=10) (Mean±SD) High dose
(N=10) (Mean±SD) ANOVA
F value P value
Before 184.1±5.1 282.8±6.5 289.8±7.1 287.4±5.3 719.1 0.967
At 14th Day 198.4±4.8 299.7±6.8 181.1±4.4 293.3±4.8 1380 <0.001
At 28th Day 212.9±5.0 319.0±4.3 224.2±17.4 296.9±4.1 315.1 <0.001
At 42nd Day 224.6±4.2 335.4±4.0 200.9±18.4 299.1±5.9 405.1 <0.001
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Fig 1: Comparisons of body weight in different groups for hypercholesterolemic.

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Table 1 also showed comparison if intra group performance
of studied subjects. Here, negative control (ranged 184.1±5.1
to 224.6±4.2), positive control (282.8±6.5 to 335.4±4.0) and
high dose (287.4±5.3 to 299.1±5.9) group showed a similar
increasing performance whereas low dose (181.1±4.4 to
224.2±17.4) group showed different pattern as compared to
other groups. However the difference among intra-groups
found to be highly statistically significant. (p<0.001)
Table 2: Effect of okra seed on hypercholesterolemic rat (LDL Cholesterol (mg/dl).
Group N Mean SD SE
95% Confidence Interval for Mean Minimum Maximum
Lower Bound Upper Bound
Negative Control 10 122.8 4.2 1.3 119.8 125.7 116 128
Positive control 10 152.1 8.9 2.8 145.7 158.4 140 167
Low dose 10 140.2 7.8 2.4 134.6 145.7 128 149
High dose 10 122.8 2.8 0.89 120.7 124.8 119 128
Total 40 134.4 5.9 1.8 130.2 138.6 116 167
F value =49.6, P value =<0.001
Fig 2: Effect of okra seed on hypercholesterolemic rat (LDL Cholesterol (mg/dl).
Table 2 indicated that in hypercholesterolemic rat (LDL
Cholesterol (mg/dl)) among groups ranged 122.8±2.8 mg/dl
to 152.1±8.9 mg/dl. Mean LDL Cholesterol levels were
minimum in High dose (122.8±2.8 mg/dl) followed by
negative control (122.8±4.2 mg/dl), Low dose (140±7.8
mg/dl) and maximum in positive control (152.1±8.9 mg/dl).
The difference among groups was found to be significant.
(p<0.001)
Discussion
The results obtained in this study reveal that feeding the rats
with food supplemented with 250 and 500 mg of okra seed
feed considerably lesser Percentage increase in average serum
LDL and average body weight less when compared with the
rats those fed with food supplemented. According to
theoretical considerations K, Na, Mg and Ca are the principal
elements in pods, which contain about 17% seeds; the
presence of Fe, Zn, Mn and Ni also has been reported.[6] Fresh
pods are low in calories (20 per 100 g), practically no fat, high
in fiber, and have several valuable nutrients, including about
30% of the recommended levels of vitamin C (16 to 29 mg),
10 to 20% of folate (46 to 88 g) and about 5% of vitamin A
(14 to 20 RAE).[7] Dried okra sauce (pods mixed with other
ingredients and regularly consumed in West Africa) does not
provide any beta carotene (vitamin A) or retinol.[8] However,
fresh okra pods are the most important vegetable source of
viscous fiber, an important dietary component to lower
cholesterol [9]. A. esculentus was found to have hypolipidemic
activity in in vivo tested rat model [10] and in mice [11]. Okra
polysaccharide lowers the cholesterol level in blood and may
prevent cancer by its ability to bind bile acids [12]. Tomoda et
al [13]. (1989) reported that okra polysaccharide possesses
anticomplementary and hypoglycemic activity in normal
mice. A. esculentus was found to have hypolipidemic activity
in in vivo tested rat model [14] and in mice. Okra
polysaccharide lowers the cholesterol level in blood and may
prevent cancer by its ability to bind bile acids [15].
Cholesterol levels decreased 56.45%, 55.65%, 41.13%,
40.50% and 53.63% respectively in mice groups orally
administered with dichloromethane okra plant extract,
methanol okra plant extract, dichloromethane okra fruit
extract, methanol okra fruit extract and simvastatin as
compared to the tyloxapol injected group [16].
Conclusion
The results obtained reveal that supplementation of okra seed
significantly controlled the hyperlipidemic condition
including the body weight reduction. Consumption off okra
seed probably decrease the probability of cardiovascular
disease as it decrease the LDL level. The results show that
lipid profile of okra seed fed rats is comparable with normal
diet fed rats. Results also indicate that okra seed is effective
for LDL reduction. However further research work is to be
carried out to come to final conclusion.

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