Hypocholestrolemic and Antioxidant Activities of Dikanut (Irvingia gabonensis) Supplemented Diet in Abino Rats

Hypocholesterolemic and Antioxidant activities of Dikanut (Irvingia gabonensis) supplemented diet in Abino rats was investigated. Albino rats (males) were fed diets `supplemented with 10, 20 and 30%, respectively dikanut for 14 days. Results showed significant (p<0.05) reductions in cholesterol levels compared to control; 1.43±0.08 to 0.88±0.10 mg/mL in the test animals. Lipid peroxidation levels also decreased significantly (p<0.05) from 6.56±0.23 mg/mL for control to 4.16±0.48 mg/mL for the test animals, while antioxidant enzymes (SOD and Catalase) levels increased significantly (p<0.05) compared to control, 21.30±3.28 to 28.72±3.68 and 2.26±0.05 to 2.95±0.11 U/L, respectively. Glutathione peroxidase level also showed significant (p<0.05) reductions from 3.82±0.41 U/L for control to 3.06±0.62 U/L in the test animals. The elicitation of these effects by the dikanut supplemented diet is a reflection of its hypocholesterolemic and antioxidative properties and could be of nutritional and clinical importance to persons at risk of cardiovascular disease.