Effects of Pereskia aculeata Miller on the Biochemical Profiles and Body Composition of Wistar Rats

Maricelma da Silva Soares de Souza^1*, Sandra Maria Barbalho^1,2, Elen Landgraf Guiguer^1,2, Adriano Cressoni Araújo¹, Patrícia Cincotto dos Santos Bueno¹, Flávia Maria Vasquez Farinazzi-Machado², Larissa Maria de Lara Lima¹, Beatriz Clivati da Silva¹, Claudemir Gregório Mendes¹

¹Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Marília, Marília, Brazil.
²Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Faculty of Food Technology of Marília (FATEC), Marília, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/jbm.2015.37010                

Abstract

Pereskia aculeata Miller commonly known as “ora-pro-nobis” has been used extensively in folclore medicine. Plant belongs to the family Cactacea and it is found in the Brazil (reaching Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul states). The purpose was to evaluate the effects of plant on biochemical and corporal profiles of Wistar rats. The 80 animals were divided randomly into 4 groups by sex (n = 10 females and 10 males per group) as follows: G1 group (water/rat food ad libitum); G2 group (drink A: commercial condensed milk, sugar and water/rat food ad libitum); G3 group (drink B: P. aculeata juice/rat food ad libitum); G4 group (drink C: commercial condensed milk, sugar and P. aculeate juice/rat food ad libitum). After 35 days their biochemical and corporal profiles were analyzed (cholesterol, glycemia, triglycerides, HDL-c, AST, ALT, Lee Index, weight and visceral fat). Intake of the plant caused no changes in the lipid profile of Wistar rats. However, intake in male rats of the same prevented the increase in triglycerides front of a hypercaloric diet. There were significant changes in glycemic index due to the high carbohydrate content of the plant. The plant was effective in reducing the levels of AST and ALT in male rats and ALT only in females. The use of the plant did not cause significant changes in the index of Lee but the Pereskia aculeata Miller may reduce visceral fat gain in female with a regular diet.

Keywords

Pereskia aculeata, Wistar Rats, Glycemia, Lipids, Visceral Fat

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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