Hypocholesterolaemic effect of banana (Musa sapientum L. var. Cavendishii) pulp in the rat fed on a cholesterol-containing diet.
The pulp of banana fruit (Musa sapientum L. var. Cavendishii) was examined for its cholesterol-lowering effect with male rats fed on a diet containing lard (50 g/kg) and cholesterol (5 g/kg). Freeze-dried banana pulp showed a marked cholesterol-lowering effect when incorporated into a diet at the level of 300 or 500 g/kg, while the banana pulp dried in a hot-air current (65 degrees) did not. Starch and tannin prepared from banana pulp were not responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effect. The results also suggest that banana lipids did not affect the concentration of serum cholesterol. Feeding of dopamine, n-epinephrine and serotonin tended to raise the concentration of serum cholesterol. Thus, all the substances tested which were thought to be susceptible to influence by hot-air drying were unlikely to be responsible for the hypocholesterolaemic effect. However, both soluble and insoluble fibres fractionated from banana pulp had a cholesterol-lowering effect, with the exception of cellulose. It was assumed that a browning reaction undergone during hot-air drying might be related to the disappearance of the hypocholesterolaemic effect of banana pulp dried in a hot-air current. The results obtained support the conclusion that soluble and insoluble components of dietary fibre participate in the hypocholesterolaemic effect of banana pulp.
Horigome
T
T
College of Agriculture, Okayama University, Japan.
Sakaguchi
E
E
Kishimoto
C
C
D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004032:Diet; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D010936:Plant Extracts; D002784:Cholesterol