Abstract
Background Dyslipidemia and hypertension are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Objective The study sought to evaluate the effects of Borassus aethiopum-fortified bread on metabolic risk factors among CVD outpatients. Method From August 2016 to April 2017, a pilot study using a single-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted by administering Borassus-fortified bread (150 g) and indistinguishable placebo (150 g white flour bread) daily to 122 CVD outpatients at 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana, for 90 days. Body composition, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters were evaluated before and after the intervention. Results Following the intervention, the mean waist circumference (before: 98.3 ± 14.6 cm, after: 95.9 ± 15.8 cm, P = 0.030), BMI (before: 31.4 ± 6.9 kg/m2, after: 28.0 ± 5.8 kg/m2, P = 0.027), and visceral fat (before: 10.4 ± 3.2, after: 9.9 ± 3.0, P = 0.013), as well as systolic (from 161.2 ± 25.5 to 137.6 ± 22.9and diastolic (from 99.2 ± 13.6 to 85.1 ± 10.8) blood pressure, were significantly reduced among the experimental group. Likewise, serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL were significantly reduced within the experimental group before (TC: 5.9 ± 1.1, LDL: 3.4 ± 1.1, and HDL: 2.2 ± 0.5) and after the intervention (TC: 4.9 ± 1.1, LDL: 2.8 ± 0.9, and HDL: 1.5 ± 0.4) (TC: P = 0.001, LDL: P = 0.016, and HDL: P < 0.001, in mmol/L). These reductions were not observed in the controls. Conclusion The Borassus-fortified bread significantly reduced blood pressure and improved lipid profile and other metabolic risk factors among the CVD outpatients studied. Therefore, its potential in the management of CVDs and other metabolic-related diseases should be looked at.
Highlights
Functional foods from plants can be consumed with diet to provide added nutritional benefits including cholesterol-lowering and hypoglycemic effects, which can be used to manage health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes [1, 2]
A study done by Issaka et al [4] exploited the antidiabetic effect of the Borassus fruit in a rat model, and the findings provided enough evidence to test for the hypothesis that Borassus-fortified bread could provide health benefits on the metabolic risk parameters among patients with Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)
All the participants were diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases but presented comorbidities, of whom 51.6% of them had hypertension alone with 1.6% of them diagnosed with a stroke
Summary
Functional foods from plants (quinoa, inulin) can be consumed with diet to provide added nutritional benefits including cholesterol-lowering and hypoglycemic effects, which can be used to manage health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes [1, 2]. The study sought to evaluate the effects of Borassus aethiopum-fortified bread on metabolic risk factors among CVD outpatients. Serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL were significantly reduced within the experimental group before (TC: 5:9 ± 1:1, LDL: 3:4 ± 1:1, and HDL: 2:2 ± 0:5) and after the intervention (TC: 4:9 ± 1:1, LDL: 2:8 ± 0:9, and HDL: 1:5 ± 0:4) (TC: P = 0:001, LDL: P = 0:016, and HDL: P < 0.001, in mmol/L) These reductions were not observed in the controls. The Borassus-fortified bread significantly reduced blood pressure and improved lipid profile and other metabolic risk factors among the CVD outpatients studied. Its potential in the management of CVDs and other metabolic-related diseases should be looked at
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