ANALYSES OF THE EFFECTS OF SWEDISH BITTERS ON SELECTED METABOLIC PROFILES
Date
2013
Authors
Imaga, Ngozi Awa
Valentine, Oluwaseun James
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Moksha Publishing House
Abstract
Swedish Bitters® is a traditional herbal tonic that has detoxification potential and has been claimed to contribute to weight loss and normal functioning of body
organs. In this study Swedish Bitters was analyzed for its phytochemical, proximate and antioxidant constituents as well as a measurement of the effects of
daily administration of 3.5 ml of the extract to rats for three weeks on tissues and organs of rats in vivo. The presence of Phenol and Tannins at levels of
418.61 and 817.27 μg GAE / mg respectively were obtained. The antioxidant assay of the extract showed that it had its highest level of DPPH radical
scavenging activity (22.6 %) at 100 % and total reducing antioxidant power was highest (0.87) at 25 %. The proximate analysis of the extract showed that the
moisture content was the highest at 80 %. There was a noted reduction in blood cholesterol levels and an increase in the level of triglycerides relative to the
control. The antioxidant enzyme assays which were carried out on the sera of the rats showed that there was a reduction in the levels of SOD and CAT in the
test group compared to the control. There was also a slight decrease in the level of GSH in the test group compared to the control, while the level of MDA in
the test group increased when compared with the control which suggests increased levels of lipid peroxidation. However these results were not statistically
significant. The results obtained from the liver function tests did not suggest any form of damage caused by the administration. There was also no statistical
difference in the blood glucose levels of the treated rats relative to the control. From the study, it can be concluded that short-term administration of Swedish
bitters had no marked end-organ damage, but rather helped reduce the level of cholesterol in vivo.
Description
Keywords
Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Chemistry::Biochemistry , Phytochemicals , Antioxidants , Liver function test , Lipid peroxidation , Cholesterol
Citation
Imaga N.O.A. and Valentine O.J. International Research Journal of Pharmacy.4(8):120-127.2013. DOI: 10.7897/2230-8407.04821