Avaliação dos efeitos hipolipêmico e antioxidante in vivo dos extratos hidroalcoólicos da folha e raíz do yacon (smallanthus sonchifolius)

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and dyslipidemia a major risk factor. Feeding is recognized as the most important intervention in the prevention of diseases and plants are considered the best source of natural antioxidants. Among them, a functional food that has been highlighted is the Yacon, a tuberous root, originate in the Andean region with fructooligosaccharides (FOS) as the main reserve carbohydrate, differing from most tuberous species which store energy in the form of starch. In addition to these compounds, Yacon presents significant amount of polyphenols in both roots and leaves. Studies show that Yacon has hypoglycemic activity, however little is known about other properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the hypolipemic and antioxidant effects in vivo of hydroalcoholic extracts of leaf and root of Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius). Male Wistar rats were used, divided into: G1 (normal control diet), G2 (control calorie diet) (NaCl 0.9%), group 3: oral suspension of simvastatin 10 mg/kg (SIM), group 4: Yacon leaf extract 20 mg/kg (YLE20), group 5: Yacon leaf extract 40 mg/kg (YLE50), group 6: Yacon leaf extract 20 mg/kg and simvastatin 10 mg/kg (YLE20+SIM), group 7: Yacon leaf extract 40 mg/kg and simvastatin 10 mg/kg (YLE40+SIM), group 8: Yacon root extract 20 mg/kg (YRE20), G9: Yacon root extract 40 mg/kg (YRE40), G10: Yacon root extract 20 mg/kg and simvastatin 10 mg/kg (YRE20+SIM), G11: Yacon root extract 40 mg/kg and simvastatin 10 mg/kg (YRE40+SIM), The formulations were administered once daily by gavage for 14 consecutive days. Hematological, biochemical and oxidative stress parameters were determined by classical methods. The groups that received the Yacon extract showed improvement of glycemic and lipid profile. The hypercholesterolemic diet increased serum levels of creatine kinase, CK-MB, homocysteine and LDH, but the extract administration decreased the levels of these markers significantly when compared to the untreated group. Moreover, the extract, reduced lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation and frequency of micronucleus induced by hypercholesterolemia and increase antioxidant defenses (CAT, SOD, GPx, GSH, vitamin C, polyphenols) in the blood. Moreover, supplementation of Yacon showed no hepatotoxic or nephrotoxic effect. The hypercholesterolemic diet increased the inflammatory process, evaluated through your markers, and extract administration has improved this parameter. Furthermore, supplementation with the root of Yacon controlled weight gain of animals. Thus, the results suggest that the lyophilized Yacon extract showed a hypoglycemic, hypolipemic and antioxidant activity, possibly due to its high content of phenolic compounds.