Hypocholesterolemic effect of teent (Capparis decidua) in hyperlipidemic obese adults

Abstract

Purpose

An elevated level of cholesterol in blood is quite common nowadays. People are becoming more health conscious. The purpose of this paper is to study the hypocholesterolemic effect of teent, as it is a rich source of dietary fiber.

Design/methodology/approach

Teent was processed and analyzed for proximate coposition and dietary fiber constituents. Fifteen obese volunteer subjects having high blood lipid profile were selected for the experiment. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for total, low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol initially before start of feeding experiment and at the end of experiment. Teent was processed and various products using teent or teent powder were standardized. Best acceptable products, namely, chutney and biscuits were supplemented in the diets of the subjects for three months.

Findings

The nutritional evaluation of teent indicates that it contains a good amount of protein and fiber. A significant decrease in the total cholesterol (13 percent) and LDL cholesterol (16 percent) was noticed at the end of the experiment. However, no significant change in HDL cholesterol was witnessed.

Originality/value

In the present scenario due to urbanization more and more people are facing problem of obesity and related heart diseases. At the same time they also want to avoid consuming medicines due to their side effects so results indicate that teent supplementation may have an important role in nutritional management of hypercholesterolemia.

Citation

Goyal, R. and Grewal, R. (2010), "Hypocholesterolemic effect of teent (Capparis decidua) in hyperlipidemic obese adults", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 340-345. https://doi.org/10.1108/00346651011044041