Effect of arrowroot (Maranta sp.) Food Products Supplementation in Diet Induced Hypercholesterolemic Mice

Abstract

Food enriched with dietary fiber content has been associated to lower blood lipid profile. In this study, the flour, starch, and cookies from locally grown arrowroot plant, which is known to contain dietary fiber, were investigated for anti-lipidemic activity. Six groups of male ICR mice were fed with a high cholesterol diet for six weeks. At the end of six-week cholesterol induction, Group 1 received distilled water (dH20), Group 2 was fed with arrowroot starch (ARS), Group 3 with arrowroot starch cookies (ARSC), Group 4 with arrowroot flour (ARF), Group 5 with arrowroot flour cookies (ARFC), and Group 6 received simvastatin (SIM) for two weeks. Body weights were recorded before and after cholesterol induction and after arrowroot treatments. Lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, VDLD, triglycerides) of serum was measured at the end of the experiment. Also, livers were dissected, weighed, and evaluated for ballooning of hepatocytes, lipid inclusion (steatosis), and portal inflammation. After two weeks of treatment with arrowroot food products, a significant reduction of body weights on hypercholesterolemic mice were observed but the reduction was comparable with the group that received only distilled water. However, treatment with arrowroot starch significantly reduced the blood total cholesterol and the histological changes induced by a high cholesterol diet. Treatment with arrowroot starch and starch cookies significantly decreased steatosis, ballooning of hepatocytes, and resulted in the absence of portal inflammation in the liver—suggesting its hypolipidemic activity. Liver lipid profile and fecal lipid excretion analysis should be conducted to further support the result of this study.