Effect of cocoa butter and sunflower oil supplementation on performance, immunoglobulin, and antioxidant vitamin status of rats.

Ebru Yıldırım,Nurgül Atmaca,Miyase Çınar,Hüsamettin Ekici,İlkay Yalçınkaya,Enes Güncüm

doi:10.1155/2014/606575

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of cocoa butter and sunflower oil alone and in combination on performance, some biochemical parameters, immunoglobulin, and antioxidant vitamin status in Wistar rats. Forty-eight male rats were assigned to four groups, consisting of 12 rats with 3 replicates. Control received balanced rat diet without oil, cocoa butter group received 3.5% cocoa butter, sunflower oil group received 3.5% sunflower oil, the last group received 1.75% sunflower oil + 1.75% cocoa butter supplementation in the rat diet for 8 weeks. The total feed consumption in sunflower oil group was statistically lower than in the other groups. The serum creatinine level was decreased in cocoa butter group compared to control. Triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol levels were decreased in only sunflower oil and only cocoa butter groups as compared to control. The level of Ig M was statistically lower in cocoa butter and cocoa butter + sunflower oil groups than in control and sunflower oil groups. There were no statistically important difference in vitamin concentrations among trial groups. It was concluded that the supplementation of cocoa butter in diet decreased Ig M level, while the supplementation of cocoa butter and sunflower oil alone decreased the triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol levels.

Highlights

Cocoa is a product derived from the beans of Theobroma cocoa plant and mostly found in West Africa, Central and South Africa, and tropical areas of Asia [1]
Chen et al [6] showed that the fatty acid recovered from thoracic lymph and the absorption of cholesterol were lower in rats given cocoa butter when compared with rats receiving corn oil
No differences were detected in the body weight gain (BWG) of the animals during the trial period among experimental groups

Summary

Introduction

Cocoa is a product derived from the beans of Theobroma cocoa plant and mostly found in West Africa, Central and South Africa, and tropical areas of Asia [1]. The antioxidant products found in cocoa inhibit the oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol); they show a protective effect against heart disease [1]. These phenolic agents confer cocoa resistance to peroxidation and have an antioxidant and immune regulatory effect [2]. Chen et al [6] showed that the fatty acid recovered from thoracic lymph and the absorption of cholesterol were lower in rats given cocoa butter when compared with rats receiving corn oil. Porsgaard and Høy [8] detected a lower triacylglycerol level in the lymph of rats that received cocoa butter compared to olive and corn oil.

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