Supplementation With MicrotermesNigeriensvs, Oil Protects Against Oxidative Stress And Lipid Peroxidation In HyperCholesterolemiaand Normal Rats:- Umunna, Oluchi G

ABSTRACT xii Microtermes nigeriensis (edible termite) is a good resource of nutrients due to its protein and oil content. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Microtermesnigeriensis oil supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers in rats with hypercholesterolemia induced by hypercholesterolemic diet (HD). Standard procedures were followed to determine the yield present in the oil using n-hexane in a Soxhlet extraction apparatus. Analyses were earned out to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the extracted oil using standard chemical methods.Thirty male albino rats were randomly distributed into 5 groups of six rats each. Group 1 received control diets, group 2 received hypercholesterolemic diet, group 3 and 4 received HD+5 % and 10% M. nigeriensis (Mn) oil supplemented diet respectively while group 5 received only 15%Mn oil diet over a period of 21 days. Body weight changes were measured using weighing balance and percentage body weight gain calculated. Serum level of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione (GSH), Peroxidase (GPx) and catalase were measured spectrophotometrically. The results revealed that M. nigeriensis has higher oil yield of 19.41%, yellowish brown in colour contained acid value of 7.96%, high iodine value (86.12%)and free fattyacid with low saponification value of 1.78%). No significant (P>0.05) percentage increase in body weight changes was observed in all the groups except for the positive group. There were significant (p<0.05) increase in GSH, GPx, catalase and SOD levels in test groups compared with the positive control. However, a significant reduction in MDA (P<0.05) was observed in dose dependent manner in all test groups. M. nigeriensis oil supplement has shown to have great anti-oxidant activity with respect to this study.Judging from all the results in this work, it can be deduced that M. nigeriensis oil has antioxidant potential and may serve as better and safe alternative oil for consumption