Effect of Caryota urens L. (Kithul) treacle on serum lipid parameters of normal rats

Abstract

Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, treacle prepared from Caryota urens L. (Kithul) sap has been used as a sweetener for many centuries and it has been used in sweet foods, drinks, confectionary and some medicinal preparations such as Arista. In recent studies we found that C. urens treacle posses anti-oxidant and anti-hyperglycemic properties as claimed in Sri Lankan ethanomedicine. Antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic activities of natural products have shown to correlate with serum lipid profile of animal models. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effect of C.urens treacle on serum lipid profile using normal rats. 286 Two groups of adult male Wister rats were selected (8 rats/group) and one group was supplied daily with a standard diet containing 56% sucrose (control) while the other group was supplied with a standard diet containing 56% C.urens treacle (treatment) for 28 consecutive days. Rats were fasted overnight on day 1 and blood was collected from the tail and serum separated. Total Cholesterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Triglyceride (TG) contents in serum were estimated using Randox test kits and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) content was calculated using Friedewald equation. Animals supplied with a diet containing treacle showed significantly (P<0.05) lower TG (53.15± 3.62 mg/dl), LDL (20.12 ± 3.06 mg/dl) and athero index (0.50 ± 0.08) compared to control (TG; 67.35 ± 5.45 mg/dl, LDL; 29.76 ± 3.05 mg/dl and athero index 1.05 ± 0.11). Further treacle diet showed significant (P<0.05) increase in good lipid parameters such as HDL (65.36 ± 4.80 mg/dl) and HDL/TC ratio (67.56 ± 3.44 %) compared to control (HDL; 43.96 ± 3.74 mg/ml and HDL/TC ratio 49.63 ± 2.51 %). However, total cholesterol content in treacle diet (96.11 ± 2.84 mg/ml) and control diet groups (87.89 ±4.13 mg/dl) did not significantly differ (P>0.05). According to the results, it can be concluded that C. urens treacle has a significant beneficial effect on serum lipid profile over white sugar (sucrose) as a sweetener