Chukwu O.O*, Christian E. Odo, and Eze-Steven P.E.

• access_time15 February, 2024

  subjectCategory: Biological Sciences

• Zingiber officinale rhizome, known commonly as ginger, is extensively used in traditional system of medicine in many countries for the treatment of various disorders. The study was aimed at determining the effects of the ethanol extract of the rhizomes of Z. officinale on some metabolic syndrome indices in albino Wistar rats fed high-fat high-sucrose diet. The design consisted of 6 groups. Group 1 received standard feed(vital finisher's mash) and distilled water, group 2 received high-fat high-sucrose diet only, group 3 received high-fat high-sucrose diet + metformin, groups 4,5 and 6 received high-fat high-sucrose diet + ethanol extract of rhizomes of Zingiber Officinale (200, 400 and 800mg/kg body weight respectively). The experiment lasted for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment, the rats of different groups were sacrificed; the parameters of lipid profile(Total cholesterol, HDL-C, TAG, LDL-C and VLDL-C), antioxidant status SOD and catalase activities as well as GSH and MDA concentrations) and using standard methods. Administration with the ethanol extract of Z. officinale rhizomes at doses of 200, 400 and 800mg/kg body weight showed significant reduction of body weight in treated groups, improved lipid profile and HDLcholesterol levels in the rats of the treated groups compared to the rats in the group fed high-fat high-sucrose diet alone. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and improvement of GSH, GPx, SOD, MDA and catalase activity were also observed in the rats of the treated groups. In conclusion, this study reveals that the ethanol extract of the rhizome of Z. officinale improved the indices of metabolic syndrome and therefore, justifies its use in the amelioration of metabolic syndrome.
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