PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS, ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES, ANTI-CHOLESTEROL AND HISTOLOGICAL IMPACT OF FORMULATED FOODS FROM POPCORN, SOYCAKE AND WONDERFUL KOLANUT IN WISTER RATS

The capacity of plant-based foods to reduce the risk of chronic diseases is based on the biological activities of phytochemicals and their consumption patterns. In view of this, the present study aims at formulating and evaluating phytochemical components, antioxidant activities and anti-cholesterol properties of popcorn-based supplemented with soycake and wonderful kolanut. The popcorn, wonderful kola and soy-cake were obtained from reputable farm and market in Akure, Nigeria. The processed flour samples (raw, blanched and fermented flour) were blended in different ratios (popcorn 60%, soy-cake 20% and wonderful kola 20%) to obtain three samples, i.e., RPSW, BPSW and FPSW. Phytochemical components, antioxidant activities and anti-cholesterol properties of the composite flour samples were evaluated in rats. The phytochemical composition of the formulated foods ranged as follows: 5.27±0.18 - 9.27±0.02 mg/g for tannin, 1.32±0.02 - 2.68±0.09 mg/g for polyphenol and 17.30±0.00 - 34.61±0.82 mg/g for phytate; while for saponin, flavonoid and oxalate the concentrations ranged from 0.73±0.00 - 4.00±0.18, 0.97±0.00 -8.98±0.24 mg/g and 0.28±0.00 - 0.36±0.00 mg/g respectively. The anti-oxidative activities of the food samples in ferric reducing power activity ranged from 28.31% in BPSW to 72.09% in RPSW samples; for hydrogen peroxide, the percentage of inhibition of the free radical ranged between 11.87% in FPSW and 18.77% in BPSW sample, while superoxide, hydroxyl free radicals and metal chelating activity were 48.02% in RPSW to 62.26% in BPSW, 1.96% in BPSW to 3.03% in RPSW and 93.50% in BPSW to 95.11% in RPSW respectively. The blood cholesterol concentration varied from 76.83 mg/dL in rats fed on FPSW to 154.79 mg/dL in RPSW, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol varied between 4.91 mg/dL in BPSW and 17.92 mg/dL in RPSW. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration showed that rats fed on FPSW had the lowest concentration (50.59 mg/dL), while those rats fed on RPSW had the highest concentration (105.36 mg/dL). The atherogenic index (AI) and coronary risk index (CRI) values ranged between 4.66 - 11.44 and 7.52 – 22.30 respectively. It was concluded that the formulated food samples might serve as good sources of phytochemicals and anti-cholesterol agents, but its therapeutic value still requires to be tested in human.