Effects of “Lesser Known” Leafy Vegetablesud(Vitex doniana and Corchorus oletorius) on theudOxidative Stress Indices of Albino Rats

摘要

Aim: To evaluate the effects of two “lesser known” leafy vegetables- Vitex doniana andudCorchorus oletorius on the oxidative indices of Albino Rats.udStudy Design: Forty eight rats, mean body weighty 351.83±1.39g were grouped into fourudto represent a control, and three diet groups. Dried powdered form of the vegetables wasudmixed with the normal rat chow in the ratio of 1:4 and pelleted before feeding to the rats.udFeeding lasted for a total of three (3) months. The first analysis was done within twoudweeks, and thereafter repeated every two weeks throughout the study.udPlace and Duration of Study: The research work was done at Biochemistry laboratory ofudthe Federal University of Technology, Owerri and National Root Crop Research Institute,udUmuahia. The study lasted for a period of three months and two weeks (104 days).udMethodology: Clean uninfected leaves of the samples were selected and sun dried toudconstant weight before grinding with a milling machine. The resulting powdered form wasudused to formulate the experimental diet with the normal rat chow in the ratio of 1:4 asudshown in the text. Enzyme activities were determined according to standard methods asudreferenced in the text. Malonyladehyde and vitamin C contents were also determined Results: Values of malonyladehyde, Vitamin C and activities of catalase significantlyud(P≥0.05) increased when the sample vegetables were administered to the rats asudcompared with the control which received no vegetables. However, the activities ofudperoxidase decreased also significantly as compared with the control. However, only theudincrease in the values of indices determined were sustained throughout the period ofudstudy.udConclusion: The studied vegetables may possess antioxidant components which mayudplay important role in the management of diseases associated with oxidative stress