The effect of dietary supplementation with Peperomia pellucida on body weight, serum lipids and glucose in normal and nutritionally induced hypercholesterolemia in rats.

This study was designed to investigate the hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic properties of Peperomia pellucida as dietary supplement in normal and cholesterol fed albino rats. The plant was administered at 10% and 20%(w/w) in the standard rat feed of rat feed containing 5% cholesterol, 2.5% groundnut oil and 0.5% cholic acid for 28 days. In the high cholesterol diet fed rats, Peperomia dietary supplementation caused a dose dependent and significant reduction (p<0.05) in weight gain when compared with the control. Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and glucose that were elevated in the high cholesterol fed rats were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in high cholesterol plant supplemented feed groups. The HDL cholesterol that was depressed in the control was also elevated in the plant fed groups resulting in a higher HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio compared with the ratio in the control group. This property may be responsible for its ethnomedicinal use in alleviating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.