ABSTRACT
Metabolic syndrome (MS), a high risk condition involving obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, is prevalent in Nigeria. The study aims to formulate an anti-oxidant-rich nutraceutical from locally available foodstuff and investigate their effects on the hallmark of MS in salt-induced rats. The rats were placed on an 8% salt diet for 6 weeks, and then supplementation in the form of a salt diet for an additional 4 weeks. Feeding the rats with a salt diet for 6 weeks increased the blood pressure and bodyweight of the salt-loaded rats. A significant (P < 0.001) increase in the serum blood glucose and lipid profile and a decrease in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were observed in the salt-loaded rats. Supplementation lowered the blood pressure and the bodyweight of the rats. Supplementation resulted in a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the serum blood glucose, lipid profile, malonyldialdehyde (MDA), insulin levels, insulin resistance, and increased HDL-C and anti-oxidant indices. There is a strong positive correlation between blood pressure, bodyweight and serum blood glucose, lipid profile, and markers of oxidative stress and strong negative correlation with HDL-C and anti-oxidant status. The results suggest that the nutraceuticals are useful in reversing most of the components of metabolic syndrome.
