ANALYSES OF THE EFFECTS OF SWEDISH BITTERS ON SELECTED METABOLIC PROFILES

Abstract

®is a tra ditional herbal tonic th at has detoxification potential and has been claimed to contribute to weight loss and normal functioning of body organs. In this study Swedish Bitters was analyzed for its phytochemical, proximate and antioxidant constituents as wel l as a measurement of the effects of daily administration of 3.5 ml of the extract to rats for three weeks on tissues and organs of rats in vivo. The presence of Phenol and Tannins at levels of 418.61 and 817.27 µg GAE / mg respectively were obtained. The antioxidant assay of the extract showed that it had its highest level of DPPH radical scavenging activity (22.6 %) at 100 % and total reducing antioxidant power was highest (0.87) at 25 %. The proximate analysis of the extract showed that the moisture cont ent was the highest at 80 %. There was a noted reduction in blood cholesterol levels and an increase in the level of triglycerides relative to the control. The antioxidant enzyme assays which were carried out on the sera of the rats showed that there was a reduction in the levels of SOD and CAT in the test group compared to the control. There was also a slight decrease in the level of GSH in the test group compared to the co ntrol, while the level of MDA in the test group increased when compared with the con trol which suggests increased levels of lipid peroxidation. However these results were not statistically significant. The results obtained from the liver function test s did not suggest any form of damage caused by the administration. There was also no stat istical difference in the blood glucose levels of the treated rats relative to the control. From the study, it can be concluded that short - term administration of Swedish