Abstract
Research on the production of lipid-lowering drugs from natural sources has become increasingly important. In this study, we investigated the hypolidemic properties of the vegetable milk produced from the seeds of Mucuna pruriens L. Vegetable milk were produced from whole or dehulled seeds of two varieties of M. pruriens, var. Veracruz: dehulled Veracruz milk (DVM) and whole Veracruz milk (WVM); and var. Cochinchinensis: dehulled Cochinchinensis milk (DCM) and whole Cochinchinensis milk (WCM). Then, the phenolic and antioxidant properties of these milks were analyzed. Furthermore, the effect of the intake on selected antioxidant and serum toxicity markers was assessed on hyperlipidemic rats. Three controls were made of normal rats, untreated hyperlipidemic rats, and hyperlipidemic rats treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/kg/day). Four test groups were made of hyperlipidemic rats and treated for 4 weeks with a diet in which vegetable milk (DCM, WCM, DVM, and WVM) was used as the protein source instead of casein. The antioxidant activity (DPPH free radical scavenging 167.2-299.9 mg/100 ml) and phenolic compounds (122.8-199.5 mg/100 ml) were higher in milks produced with whole seeds than in milks produced with dehulled seeds. Moreover, the levels of creatinine, ALAT, ASAT, and MDA, as well as total, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol, significantly increased in the serum of hyperlipidemic rats (p < 0.05). However, the antioxidant enzyme activities of treated rats significantly (p < 0.05) decreased compared to those of normal rats. The intake of M. pruriens milk significantly reduced the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and LDL in the serum (p < 0.05). Whole M. pruriens milk exhibited higher antioxidant properties, but showed high levels of ALAT, ASAT, and creatinine, which could have an adverse effect on certain organs. Overall, dehulled M. pruriens milk could be a potent hypolipidemic and antioxidant functional food.
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