Effect of black and white sesame on lowering blood lipids of rats with hyperlipidemia induced by high-fat diet

Abstract

Sesamum indicum has various biological effects, and this study aimed to investigate its hypolipidemic effect. A hyperlipidemia rat model was established by feeding rats with high-fat diets in this study, then the hyperlipidemia rats were fed with different doses of black and white sesame seeds and black and white sesame kernels. The serum and liver biochemical indicators of the rats were determined, and liver pathology analysis was conducted to evaluate the hypolipidemic effect of sesame. The results showed that the blood lipid of SD (Sprague-Dawley) rats fed with high-fat diet for three weeks was higher than 200 mg/dL, indicating that the hyperlipidemia rat model was successfully established. At the same dose, the final body weights of the rats of white sesame seed and kernel groups were higher than those of the black sesame seed and kernel groups; and the weights of the black and white sesame seed groups were lower than those of the black and white sesame kernel groups. The liver indexes of the normal control group and the experimental groups were significantly lower than the model control group (P < 0.05), indicating that black and white sesame seed and kernel could reduce the lipid accumulation on the liver. The malondialdehyde (MDA) values of the liver in the normal control group and the experimental groups were significantly lower than that in the model control group (P < 0.05). The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in the liver of each experimental group were significantly higher than those in the model control group (P < 0.05). Based on the above results as well as pathological observation and analysis, we found that the black and white sesame seeds and kernels could improve fatty liver lesions and lipid metabolism disorder and could reduce lipid accumulation on the liver, thereby protecting the liver from damage and reducing the risk of fatty liver. Moreover, black and white sesame seeds, black and white sesame kernels can reduce the levels of total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in serum, and high dose of black sesame seeds (30% black sesame seeds) and low dose of black sesame kernels (10% black sesame kernels) were more beneficial for the recovery of hyperlipidemia and fatty liver. The above results indicated that black and white sesame has hypolipidemic effect.