Abstract:
This study evaluated the effect of Cissus rotundifolia (CR), on the lipid profile of rats and postprandial blood glucose level of normoglycemic human adults. CR flour was processed using traditional Nigerian method of processing. The animal experiment involved male Sprague-Dawley rats fed for 14 days with hypercholesterolemic diet of corn oil, cholesterol, casein, mineral mix, vitamin mix, sucrose, solka floc and corn starch blended together and served as control diet (CD). The experimental diet (CRD) was CR flour added to the CD to provide 10 g total dietary fibre per 100 g but maintained similar amount of protein and fat levels as the CD. At the end of the 14 days of feeding, the rats were sacrificed and the plasma lipid levels measured. The human study involved 10 healthy subjects who fasted overnight for 12 h. Control bread meal (CB) was two whole wheat bread rolls, apricot jam, and sufficient water. Cissus rotundifolia based bread (CRB) substituted whole wheat in the test meal. Each meal contained 75 g available carbohydrate (CHO). The test meal also provided 6 g soluble non-starch polysaccharide (SNSP). The subjects were fed the CB and CRB on two separate days. Venous blood sample was taken at fasting and postprandially for 2.5 h and analyzed for plasma glucose and insulin levels. Analysis of variance and repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data from the animal and human experiments, respectively. The result of the rat study showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction on the fasting plasma cholesterol and a reduction in the triglyceride levels of rats fed the CRD compared to the CD. The human study showed that CRB elicited a significant (p<0.05) decrease in plasma glucose level and insulin at 150 and 90 min, respectively. A significant reduction (p<0.005) was found in the area under the curves (AUC) with CRB compared to the CB. It was concluded that CR could be useful in modulating blood glucose levels in humans.
