Addition of Citrus Leaf Extract into Frying Oil Prevents Hypertension and Improves Vascular Reactivity in Heated Oil-Fed Rats

Abstract

The use of repeatedly heated frying oil is hazardous to health, due to oxidative process that occurs in the oil. Addition of an additive with antioxidant property could lessen the detrimental effects of repeated frying in the oils. Citrus leaf extract (CLE) supplementation was reported to possess antioxidant and blood pressure-lowering properties. Our study aimed to determine the effects of CLE addition into frying oil in rats fed with repeatedly heated oil diet. Seven groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were given fresh and heated oil diets (five-time- and ten-time-heated palm oil), with and without the CLE addition for 16 weeks. CLE addition decreased peroxide value and augmented the total phenolics content in the heated oils. CLE addition reversed the negative effects of heated oil on nitric oxide level, systolic blood pressure, and vascular reactivity. In conclusion, these findings show that CLE has the ability to reduce oxidative damage caused by thermal degradation in frying oil and subsequently lowers the risk of hypertension in rats that consumed heated oil.