Amaranth containing products (antihyperglycemic and hypolipedemic)

 

6.4. Antihyperglicemic and Hypolipidemic Activi,ty of

Amaranth containing products

There are scientific papers in the databases on the sugar-lowering and cholesterol-lowering effects of amaranth-containing products.

 Methanolic extract of Amarantus viridis leaves (at the dose of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg per day, 21 days) reduced blood sugar levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

 The administration of the extract also reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels [29].

Hi Girija et al. investigated the anti-diabetic and anti-cholesterolemic activity of the methanol extract of leaves (200 and 400 mg/kg, for 21 days) from three species of amaranth: A. caudatus, A. spinosus, and A. viridis [30].

 Experiments were conducted in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methanol extracts of all three species of amaranth showed significant glucose and cholesterol-lowering activity at a dose of 400 mg/kg [30].

 Similar issues are presented in another paper published in 2011. Antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of the methanolic extract of leaves of Amaranthus viridis was investigated. Normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were fed with 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of extract per os for 21 days. The authors of this study proved that the tested extract showed antiglycemic activity and improved the lipid profile in rats [29].

 Studies on the activity of selected proteins from amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) suggest hypocholesterolemic activity of this plant. Manolio Soares and colleagues showed that proteins from the plant affect the action of a key enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase [31].

 The hypolipemic effect of amaranth oil is associated with its significant squalene content. The mechanism of activity of squalene relies on the inhibition of HMG-CoA activity—a liver enzyme responsible for cholesterogenesis. Such activity has been demonstrated in both rat and clinical studies [7]. 

In another paper, the effects of consumption of the Amaranthus mangostanus on lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice were examined.

 Amaranth powder supplementation significantly reduced the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and phospholipids in the liver of rats and also downregulated the expression of a few lipogenesis-related genes [32]. 

Recent research findings suggest that the aqueous extract obtained from steamed red amaranth leaves might be used as a potent nutritional supplement to prevent diabetic retinopathy. 

Anti-glycative and anti-oxidative action of that extract against a high glucose-induced injury was examined in a human lens epithelial cell line HLE-B3 [33].

Ref

Foods. 2022 Feb 21;11(4):618. doi: 10.3390/foods11040618

The Dual Nature of Amaranth—Functional Food and Potential Medicine

Justyna Baraniak 1,*, Małgorzata Kania-Dobrowolska 1

Editor: Antonello Santini