Legumin from chickpea: hypolipidemic effect in the liver of hypercholesterolemic rats

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to determine the effects of 11S globulin isolated from Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) on lipid metabolism in animals subjected to a hypercholesterolemic and hyperlipidemic diet and compared to the drug simvastatin. Design/methodology/approach – Thirty-six male Wistar rats, kept in individual cages and under appropriate conditions, were separated into groups that were fed a normal diet (STD) containing casein as protein source and according to AIN-93G; a high-cholesterol diet (HC), normal diet plus 1 per cent cholesterol and 0.5 per cent cholic acid and 20 per cent coconut oil; HC diet plus the isolated 11S globulin (300 mg/kg/day); and HC diet plus the simvastatin (50 mg/kg/day), both dissolved in saline and administered by gavage for 28 days. After this time, the animals were killed. Findings – The results indicated that the addition of 1 per cent cholesterol and 0.5 per cent cholic acid induced hypercholesterolemia in the animals without interfering with their weight gain. Analyses of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) in the plasma, and TC and TG in the liver were made. The results show that the protein isolated from chickpea, and given as a single daily dose, did not affect the levels of plasma TC and its fractions, although decreasing the TG levels. Unlike the simvastatin, the chickpea protein significantly reduced TC and TG in the liver relative to HC group. Originality/value – A single daily dose of 11S globulin from chickpea contributed as only as additional 2.8 per cent of dietary protein intake. These findings demonstrate that 11S chickpea protein acts as a functional agent in the lipid metabolism in addition to its nutritional properties.

Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of 7S and 11S Globulins Isolated from Cowpea Seed Protein

“…The appearance of two 7S globulin bands of about 28 and 52 kDa corresponds to the basic and acidic subunits and such results concur with other published work in this respect. Also, the molecular mass study of 7S globulin showed bands of about 132, 129 and 95 kDa and those bands correspond to α’, α and β subunits and those showed that such globulin protein is similar to that of chickpea [36]; SDS-PAGE of chickpea legumin exhibited five bands corresponding to smaller molecular weights of about 25–45 kDa in accordance with previous results in this respect which reported a molecular weight range of about 18-41 kDa for these subunits. The variations in the minimal molecular weight may be due to different plant varieties [31].…”

Chromatography-Independent Fractionation and Newly Identified Molecular Features of the Adzuki Bean (Vigna angularis Willd.) β-vignin Protein

“…Thus, our protocol can be adopted for large-scale protein analyses in nutritional [ 14 , 18 , 22 ] and nutraceutical applicative fields [ 21 ], which may require animal or human testing [ 5 , 28 ], or for direct exploitation in specific formulation for human food [ 23 ].…”

“…In the last decade, health-promoting biological activities have been associated with several proteins from legume seeds, primarily soybean [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], chickpea [ 14 , 15 ], lupin [ 16 ], cowpea [ 5 , 17 ], adzuki [ 5 ], and mung [ 18 ] beans. Peptides of different sizes have been shown to exert various beneficial effects, including anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihypertensive, cholesterol-lowering, immunomodulatory actions as well as obesity and Type 2 diabetes prevention [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

The Vicilin protein (Vigna radiata L.) of mung bean as a functional food

“…The 7S and 11S globulins of different species of legumes affect lipid metabolism in vivo and in vitro (Amaral et al , 2014; Duranti, 2006; Ferreira et al , 2015; Pak et al , 2005). The amino acids sequences of the polypeptide chains and their potential structural interaction are conserved (Argos et al , 1985).…”