Hypoglycemic and Hypocholesterolemia Effects of Intragastric Administration of Dried Red Chili Pepper (Capsicum Annum) in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Male Albino Rats Fed with High-Fat-Diet

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of different drying methods, such as solar drying at 45°C and conventional drying at 60°C on the quality of red chili pepper for two varieties Serrano and Fresno. The conventional drying method had the highest capsaicin content (2.74 and 1.28%) for Serrano and Fresno varieties respectively. The effect of dried red chili pepper at 1 and 2% and the pure capsaicin at 0.015% were studied in experiments using male albino rats containing 20% high fat diet (HFD) rendered diabetic with alloxan injection for 4 weeks. The lowest value of blood serum glucose was with G4 “diabetic group fed HFD + 0.015% capsaicin” that recorded 160 mg/dl. Moreover, serum cholesterol as well as serum triglycerides for the diabetic groups G4 and also G6 that “fed HFD + 2% Serrano red dried chili pepper” were significantly low. The HDL concentration for the groups G4 and G6 were significantly higher than the G3 “diabetic rats fed with HFD”. Feeding the groups of diabetic rats with HFD + 1 or 2% dried red chili pepper or 0.015% capsaicin, the LDL and VLDL levels as well as total lipids were significantly low as compared with control diabetic HFD “G3”.