Abstract
Obesity, a major health problem worldwide, is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hypertension. We investigated the antioxidative capacity of the ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) and its effect on the lipid profile, the hepatorenal function, and the atherogenic indices in mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). EEP (50 mg/kg) was given orally to mice for 30 days. After the treatments, levels of the serum total triglyceride and cholesterol, the high density lipoprotein (HDL-c) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-c) cholesterols, the serum enzymes, and the metabolites were measured, and atherogenic indices [atherogenic index of plasma (AIP); cardiac risk ratio (CRR); cardioprotective index (CPI); atherogenic coefficient (AC)] were calculated and compared with the antioxidant, the reducing power, the radical-scavenging, and the chelating activity of EEP. The HFD diet with EEP significantly reduced the negative lipid profile and lowered AIP, CRR, and AC and increased CPI in animals on a HFD. In addition, EEP reduced the weight of mice and lipid accumulation in the liver, and it had significant in vitro antioxidative activities. The EEP possesses anti-hyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity and exhibits protective action on the cardiovascular system and hepatorenal functions. Our results contribute towards the validation of the traditional use of propolis as a food supplement in aiding hyperlipidemic disorders.
Highlights
The basic cause of obesity is the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.Accumulation of fat tissue, especially the accumulation of visceral fat tissue, is a possible primary cause of “metabolic syndrome”, which is the combination of multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hypertension
Spectrophotometric and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis confirmed that raw propolis was a poplar-chemotype
Spectrophotometric analysis showed that ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) contained Total Phenol Content (TP) of 152.33 ± 2.59, Total Flavonoid Content (TF) of 59.99 ± 2.04, and Total Phenolic Acid Content (TPA)
Summary
The basic cause of obesity is the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.Accumulation of fat tissue, especially the accumulation of visceral fat tissue, is a possible primary cause of “metabolic syndrome”, which is the combination of multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hypertension. Dyslipidemia and oxidative stress, which are closely related to diabetes, hypertension, obesity [1,2,3,4], and cancer [5], might be consequences and causes of the high. Nutritional and pharmacological preparations that affect such physiological conditions, which accompany dyslipidemia, elevated plasma triglyceride levels, total low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and a low level of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, can regulate lipid metabolism and be effective in reducing the risk of lipid disorders, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and consequent pathological complications [7]. Flavonoids can be aglycones, glycosides, and methylated derivatives, and their antioxidant activity depends on the arrangement of functional groups around the nuclear structure—in particular, the total number of hydroxyl groups [17,18]. It is believed that aglycones are more potent antioxidants than the corresponding glycosides, and that the degree of polymerization increases the antioxidant capacity, which is important for their biological and pharmacological efficacy [3,5,19]
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