A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL AND LIPID MODULATING EFFECTS OF Mangifera indica, Irvingia gabonensis and Irvingia wombolu IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC ANIMAL MODELS

Background: In recent years, increasing attention is being paid to oils consumed by humans because of the high number of unsaturated compounds these oils are susceptible to. As a result, many unnecessary changes occur in food products that deteriorate their sensory properties (colour, taste, odour). Mangifera sp and Irvingia sp are rich in a variety of phytochemicals and nutrients ; and have great antioxidant activities. This study aim to study the effect these oils have on the lipid profile of rats fed the oils. Methods: Chemical properties involving antioxidant techniques like 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay, Total Antioxidant Activity (TAA) and Total Phenolics (TP) were investigated. Lipid profiles of the oils were also studied using animal models. Results: Of all the techniques employed, TAA was indeed a better reflector of the antioxidant activity, irrespective of oil type since it distinctly showed the significant (p<0.05) contribution of testa to inhibit autoxidation. The oil extracts possessed a lower potency than the standards (Quercetin). The Irvingia variety with testa ( Iwt 4.86 µg/ml; Igt 17.12µg/ml) showed more potency by having relatively lesser IC 50 values than those without testa ( Iwt o 17.30µg/ml; Igt o 22.41µg/ml). The Irvingia wombulu ( Iw ) extracts irrespective of treatment, had stable LDL, increase in TC by 24.6%, a remarkable rise in HDL by 115.8% and a decrease in TG by 6.4%. When effects of testa were examined, Iwt gave increased values of 178.2% TC, 354.5% HDL and 743% decrease in LDL representing ratio 1:2:5 respectively. Conclusion: The observations re-emphasized the positive contribution of testa of Irvingia seed in nutrition. This research has demonstrated that the oil extracts derived from Irvingia wombulu and Irvingia gabonensis, particularly when retaining their testa components, exhibit notable antioxidant properties and mitigates oxidative stress induced by free radicals.