This study aims to investigate the protective effect ofCyphomandra betaceain 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 receivedC. betaceaextract 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 withC. betaceaextracts 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 ofC. betaceaextract. Interestingly,C. betaceatreated 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 withC. betaceashow significantly lower in TNF-αand IL-6 activities (p<0.05). This study demonstrates the potential use ofCyphomandra betaceaextract 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.

Background: Mangosteen 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 ofGarcinia mangostanaflesh (GMF) on biochemical and morphological changes in the liver and kidney of high-fat diet-induced obese rats.Methods: Forty 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.Results: The 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.Conclusion: Taken together, the findings suggest that supplementation ofGarcinia mangostanaflesh 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.

A source of functional food can be utilized from a source that might otherwise be considered waste. This study investigates the hypocholesterolemic effect of defatted dabai pulp (DDP) from supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and the metabolic alterations associated with the therapeutic effects of DDP using ¹H NMR urinary metabolomic analysis. Male-specific pathogen-free Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with a high cholesterol diet for 30 days to induce hypercholesterolemia. Later, the rats were administered with a 2% DDP treatment diet for another 30 days. Supplementation with the 2% DDP treatment diet significantly reduced the level of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (α-TNF)) and significantly increased the level of antioxidant profile (total antioxidant status (TAS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxide (GPX), and catalase (CAT)) compared with the positive control group (PG) group (p < 0.05). The presence of high dietary fibre (28.73 ± 1.82 g/100 g) and phenolic compounds (syringic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and gallic acid) are potential factors contributing to the beneficial effect. Assessment of ¹H NMR urinary metabolomics revealed that supplementation of 2% of DDP can partially recover the dysfunction in the metabolism induced by hypercholesterolemia via choline metabolism. ¹H-NMR-based metabolomic analysis of urine from hypercholesterolemic rats in this study uncovered the therapeutic effect of DDP to combat hypercholesterolemia.

This study aims to identify potential phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and other phytochemicals, as well as fatty acid profile and peptides in Canarium odontophyllum (CO) oil and oleoresin, extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide. LC-ESI-MS was applied in separation and tentative identification of phytochemicals in CO oil and oleoresin. Based on the results, 11 common fatty acids and their isomers, monoglycerides, diglycerides, as well as other types of lipid, were tentatively identified in the CO oil and oleoresin. The identified fatty acids consisted of saturated fatty acids (C8–C16), monounsaturated fatty acids (C16:1 and C18:1), polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:2, C18:3, C18:4, and C20:3), and other unclassified fatty acids. The tentatively identified phenolic compounds were phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, and a phenolic monoester. Triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and apocarotenoids were the terpenoids found in CO oil and oleoresin. Besides these typical bioactives, some volatiles, aromatic compounds, peptides, and other known and unknown phytochemicals were also tentatively identified in the oil and oleoresin of CO. Some of these compounds are new compounds identified in CO oil and oleoresin, which are not found in many other fruit oils. Although CO oil and oleoresin contain a small number of phytochemicals, their contribution as antioxidants may prevent several diseases. In this study, we hypothesized that CO oleoresin contains certain types of fatty acids that render its semi-solid together with other chemical components which are not found in CO oil. This is the first study that tentatively identified fatty acids, peptides, and potential phytochemicals in CO oil and oleoresin using LC-ESI-MS.

All food scientists must utilize plants for their application as functional foods to reduce hypercholesterolemia incidence through diet. Canarium odontophyllum (dabai) is a novel source for new healthy oil and functional foods. In this work, we evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extracted dabai pulp oil (DPO) and defatted dabai pulp (DDP) against hypercholesterolemia elicited by a high-cholesterol diet in rats. Our results show that DPO and DDP supplementation exerted beneficial hypocholesterolemic effects against the high-cholesterol diet-fed rat. Nevertheless, supplementation with DDP revealed superior total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and HMG-CoA reductase lowering efficacy (p < 0.05). Supplementation of either DPO or DDP did not significantly affect AST and ALT levels than normal rats (p > 0.05). Therefore, DDP and DPO are considered as having no toxicological significance. The histological section of rats treated with DPO and DDP showed improved steatosis in hepatocytes. HPLC analysis revealed that DPO and DDP contained syringic acid, which plays an important role in the beneficial effect. In conclusion, our results support the hypocholesterolemic and hepatoprotective effects of DPO and DDP in the hypercholesterolemic rats model.