EFFECTS OF STEVIOSIDE-SUPPLEMENTED BISCUITS ON LIPID PROFILE OF RABBITS

Abstract

Stevioside is one of natural non-caloric sweeteners refined from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. It is recognized to be 150-300 times sweeter than sucrose and is used as non-caloric alternative to table sugar. Stevioside is a glycoside that is linked to the pathology and complications of hyperlipidemia. Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most commonly occurring problems around the globe. Hyperlipidemia is the current medical as well social problem, specially associated with diabetes mellitus leading to increasing morbidity and mortality. Dyslipidemia is the current medical as well social problem, specially associated with diabetes mellitus leading to increasing morbidity and mortality. The frequency of hyperlipidemia in diabetes is indeed very high depending on the type of diabetes and its degree of control. The major risk factors of hyperlipidemia are associated with atherosclerosis which predisposes ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. We have prepared a stevioside-supplemented biscuit using stevioside as a sugar substitute with other two types of biscuit using sugar and saccharine to compare the results. Then we fed these three types of biscuits to three separate groups of rabbits for three weeks. We observed their effects on the lipid profile of rabbits. We measured levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides(TG), high density lipoprotein(HDL),low density lipoprotein(LDL) and very low density lipoprotein(VLDL) with calcium. This parameters were performed by spectrophotometer .Stevioside formulated biscuits decrease the body weight gain, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL levels. On the other hand, it improved the HDL level in the rabbits. The results revealed that the cholesterol level was in normal range (51.6078431 mg/dl) in stevioside biscuit but high in sugar (78.2960945 mg/dl) and saccharine (76.9009991 mg /dl). Stevioside showed the less triglyceride level(79.5094614mg/dl) than that of sugar (232 mg/dl) and saccharine (234.95 mg/dl). Stevioside biscuit also contain less LDL level (28.6578431 mg/dl) and VLDL level (1.54352256 ) than sugar (LDL = 56.6987032; VLDL =4.64 mg/dl) and saccharine (LDL = 57.5638687; VLDL =4.699 mg/dl). Stevioside biscuit also contain high HDL level (22.3188406 mg/dl) than sugar (17.2121212 mg /dl) and saccharine biscuit (17.5151515 mg/dl). Altogether, stevioside-supplanted biscuit showed the best results than sugar and saccharine-supplemented biscuits. It is concluded that stevioside - supplemented biscuit has effects in rabbits on lipid profile level, and therefore could be a promising nutraceutical therapy for the management of hyperlipidemia and its associated complications.