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Hypercholesterolemia is implicated in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and is identified
as a common cause of mortality in this degenerative condition. Hence, CVD management strategy
should include control of hypercholesterolemia. This study describes the effect of some legume
condiments on biochemical indices in hypercholesterolemia rat model. Adult male Wistar rats
were used for this study and hypercholesterolemia was induced by inclusion of 1% cholesterol in
the rat feed. The animals were divided into five groups containing six animals each and were fed
with diets supplemented with 16% fermented soybean, bambara groundnut and African locust
bean. The study lasted for 30 days after which plasma was analyzed for the lipid profile and liver
function marker enzymes and the liver tissue analyzed for malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Elevated
plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate
transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and MDA content showed significant (p<0.05) reduction in
the rats fed with fermented legume condiment-supplemented diets, with a concomitant increase in
plasma HDL-cholesterol as compared with the hypercholesterolemia control rats. This study
revealed that fermented legume condiment-supplemented diets attenuate hypercholesterolemia
and protect the liver of the experimental rats from oxidative damage, with African locust bean
condiment displaying the best biological potential.
Keywords: Condiments; hypercholesterolemia; lipid profile; liver marker enzymes