Effects of supplementation with biofortified sweet potato leaf flour on metabolism, adiposity and oxidative stress in male Wistar rats

Abstract

Summary: Background & Aims: Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato - OFSP, refers to one of the food crops obtained by biofortification. The study of the OFSP leaves can therefore expand its use and provide new elements with additional nutritional values for health promotion. The present study evaluated the effect of supplementing the flour obtained from the OFSP leaf on the adiposity and metabolic conditions of male Wistar rats. Methods: The research has a basic experimental character, being performed with male Wistar rats (n = 20) divided into Supplemented Group (n = 10), which received 2g of OFSP flour in 2mL of water via gavage, administered during 6 weeks. Unsupplemented rats received the same volume of water without the flour. At 69 days old and after 12 hours of fasting, the rats were weighed, measured the naso-anal length to calculate the Lee index and collected whole blood for analysis of: glucose, blood count, lipid profile and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). The histology of the adipose and hepatic tissue was performed. Results: As main results, lower weight and lower adipocyte volume were obtained in visceral fat and there was a reduction in VLDL-cholesterol in the Supplemented Group. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the It can be concluded that the supplementation with OFSP leaves was able to experience a reduction in the lipid profile and in the accumulation of fat in adipocytes. These effects correlate with combating free radicals and preventing damage related to oxidative stress, such as NCDs.

Keywords

• Biofortified sweet potatoes
• Antioxidants
• Carotenoids
• Visceral fat
• Chronic non-communicable diseases