Hypolipidemic Activity of Fermented Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) Gruel (Ogi) in Hypercholesterolemic Rats (Rattus nervegicus)

Background: Fermented gruel (Ogi) has been reported to have high lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with proven probiotic properties. This fermented food has also has different therapeutic usages.

Objective: The activities of fermented sorghum (Ogi) on induced hypercholesterolemia in albino rats were investigated.

Materials and Methods: The LAB strains were isolated from traditionally fermented sorghum gruel Ogi. Also the ability of the isolates to tolerate bile and produced bile salt hydrolase was also determined. The hypolipidemic activity of fermented gruel (Ogi) with and without LAB strains in hypercholesterolemic rats was determined using standard methods.

Results: The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count in sorghum Ogi ranged between 5. 0792 log10 CFU/g and 5.6990 log10 while the average values of pH and titratable acidity (TTA) were 3.8 and 0.38 respectively. There was no significant difference between the weights of the animals in the control group (Basal Diet) and the experimental groups (at p<0.05). The mean values of the low density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDLC) in the rats were 188.60±7.27 mg/dl in the animals fed with HLF while the least value was recorded in the Basal diet supplanted with Ogi (BD+Ogi) (110.80±26.93 mg/dl). The mean high density lipoproteins cholesterol in the serum of the rats in cholesterol free feed supplemented with BD+Ogi diet group was the highest (52.600 mg/dl). The amount of the total lipid in the animal fed with high lipid diet (HLF) was significantly higher than the amount in the organs of the animals feed with diets containing BD+Ogi, HLF+ L. lactis and HLF+ L. brevis (at α = 0.05). In decreasing order, the amount of the glycerides in high lipid feed diets supplemented with Ogi, Lactobacillus lactis and L. brevis. The mean value of the Aspartate transaminase in the animals in Basal Diet group was higher at the commencement of the experiment (275.45±34.43 IU/L).while the level of the alanine transaminase was not significantly different (at p< 0.05). The histo-pathological micrograph of the various organs revealed the hypolipidemic potential activity of fermented sorghum.

Conclusion: The diets supplemented with the fermented food showed better activity against hypercholesterolemia in the rat groups than their microbial isolates. It would therefore be safe to recommend these foods to individuals with this disease situation and those with incidence of coronary heart disease in Nigeria.