The effect of Sorghum Tempeh (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in atherogenic diet-induced rats

Abstract

An atherogenic diet induces oxidative stress leading to hypercholesterolemia. This condition causes atherosclerosis followed by increased LDL and MDA. Sorghum tempeh contains fiber and antioxidants that can protectively improve LDL and MDA levels. Therefore, this research aims to determine the effect of sorghum tempeh on LDL and MDA levels in atherogenic diet-induced rats compared to sorghum flour. It used a randomized pre-post test with a control group design. The test subjects were 30 male Sprague Dawley rats, consisting of 6 normal conditioned rats (C1), and 24 that were induced by an atherogenic diet (C2, T1, T2, T3) for 2 weeks. Sorghum flour was administered at a dose of 4.095 g (T1) and the sorghum tempeh at 3.041 g (T2) and 6.081 g (T3) for 4 weeks. Furthermore, C2 was constantly induced through an atherogenic diet. Total cholesterol and LDL levels were then analyzed using the CHOD-PAP method, and MDA levels, using the ELISA method. Meanwhile, statistical analysis for these variables was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics 21 software. The results showed that the administration of sorghum flour and tempeh significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL, MDA levels in each group (p = 0.001). Furthermore, it showed that there was a significantly strong correlation between LDL and MDA levels before and after treatment (r = 0.610, r = 0.805, and p = 0.001). The administration of sorghum tempeh at a dose of 6.081 g caused the greatest reduction (∆) in LDL levels at -44.19 ±2.58 mg.dL-1, although, it was not the same as normal control. Meanwhile, sorghum flour at a dose of 4.095 g was the most influential in reducing MDA levels to the same as normal control with delta (∆) at -7.67 ±0.37 ng.mL-1. In conclusion, sorghum tempeh and flour were the most effective at reducing LDL and MDA levels, respectively.