The hypocholesterolemic effect of the ethanol extract of Ananas comosas (Pineapple) was investigated in 5 groups of albino rats, 7 in each group. Group I rat received only distilled water and served as normal control. Groups II, III, IV and  V were made hypercholesterolemic by feeding cholesterol orally suspended in 2% cholic acid mixed soybean oil (1 ml/kg bw) at a dose of 100 mg/kg bw daily up to 60 days. Group II rat received 1 ml distilled water while animals of Group III , IV and V received ethanol extract of Ananas comosas at the dose of 1000 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg body weight respectively daily up to 60 days in addition to cholesterol as above. At the end of 60th day animals were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for measurement of lipid profiles using enzymatic kit. Administration of cholesterol caused a significant rise (p<0.001) in the serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. Simultaneous administration of three different doses of Ananas comosas extract namely 1000 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg for 60 days decreased serum cholesterol level by 62%, 47%, and 42% respectively (p<0.001); serum triglycerides level by 62.7%, 58.7%, and 49.09% respectively (p<0.001); serum LDL level by 70.5%, 53.9% and 51.15%, respectively (p<0.01). However, serum HDL level was not affected significantly. The cumulative results clearly indicate ethanol extract of Ananas comosas leaves possesses potent hypocholesterolaemic effect.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijls.v5i1.3739 International Journal of Life Sciences Vol.5(1) 2011

Freshwater invertebrates, especially molluscs, have recently piqued the interest of researchers as a potential new source of food protein hydrolysates. This study prepared bioactive protein hydrolysates (PPh) from the freshwater snail Paludomas conica and investigated their antioxidant and antidiabetic effects by evaluating biochemical and molecular approaches. The DPPH free radical assay, ABTS scavenging assay, FRAP assay and superoxide scavenging assay investigated the antioxidant effects. The antidiabetic potential was measured in α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition assays followed by in vivo assay in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic animal model and gene expression studies. In all antioxidant experiments, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of PPh was less than the cut-off value, 1000 μg/mL. The inhibitory concentration of PPh was 1.89 mg/mL for α-amylase and 334.70 μg/mL for α-glucosidase in vitro assay. Furthermore, in the streptozotocin-induced Wistar albino rats model of six groups (n = 5, body weight 180-20 g, age 6-7 weeks), the administration of PPh 250 mg/kg for diabetic rats a 4 weeks intervention attenuated elevated glucose levels and other diabetes-related biomarkers (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lipid profile, total protein, uric acid). Molecular assay by the qPCR analysis showed a significant (P < 0.05) upregulation of the relative mRNA expression of antioxidant and glucose metabolism-regulating enzymes-related genes of superoxide dismutase (SOD-1), Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) and Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1). Findings demonstrate that PPh could be used as a potential food source to reduce diabetic complications by regulating gene expression of antioxidant and glycolytic enzymes.

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Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites is a medicinal plant of enormous traditional use with insufficient scientific evidence. This research screened the antioxidative effect of L. spinosa extracts by measuring the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ABTS scavenging activity, Iron chelating activity, and Ferric reducing power followed by an evaluation of in-vivo cardioprotective effect in doxorubicin-induced Wistar albino rats. Phytochemical characterization was made by Gas-Chromatography Mass Spectroscopic analysis. L. spinosa showed an excellent antioxidative effect while Methanol leaf extract (LSM) was found to be more potent than Ethyl acetate leaf extract (LSE) in scavenging the free radicals. Intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin caused a significant (P < 0.001) increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK-MB), C-reactive protein(CRP), and Cardiac troponin I. Pretreatment with orally administrated (LSM100 and LSM200 mg/kg b.w) daily for 10 days showed a decrease in the cardiac markers, lipid profiles, especially triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), an increase of High-density lipoprotein (HDL) compared to the disease control group. LSM200 was found to significantly (P < 0.05) decrease the levels of CK-MB and LDH. It also restored TC, TG, and LDL levels compared to the doxorubicin-induced cardiac control group. The protective role of LSM was further confirmed by histopathological examination. This study thus demonstrates that L. spinosa methanol extract could be approached as an alternative supplement for cardiotoxicity, especially in the chemical-induced toxicity of cardiac tissues.