Earlyface

Researchers have said that merely using egusi melon oil as one’s table, cooking and frying oil ensures a good supply of polyunsaturated fatty acids that has protective effect against coronary heart diseases (CHD) and also improves insulin sensitivity.

Researchers studying the effect of the fatty acid composition of Egusi melon oil on the body found out its inclusion in any diet containing high cholesterol can help to counteract the effect such a diet rich in cholesterol would have on the body.

According to them, “the reductions in total and esterified cholesterol observed in the egusi melon oil-fed rats is of interest since the offending fat in the hardening and narrowing of blood vessels is the cholesterol fraction.”

The body needs cholesterol for tasks such as maintaining the walls of cells. But too much of the “bad” type increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Usually people with high blood cholesterol levels are usually given drugs in order to block cholesterol production as well as lower the level of the type of cholesterol that furs up the arteries by forming fatty plaques.

Too much of the “bad” type increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Consequently, development of methods for lowering Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol levels has become a major focus of medical research.

A variety of factors can affect a person’s cholesterol levels. They include diet, overweight, lack of exercise, age and gender, heredity and certain medications and diseases like diabetes.

Although diet play a role in diseases of the heart and the blood vessels, but eating fatty foods does not necessarily mean that someone will develop plaques. The types of fats consumed also seem to be important; fats which add to bad cholesterol tend to contribute to atherogenesis because the plaques often contain cholesterol.

The approach of reducing dietary cholesterol suffers from two limitations. The first is that cholesterol is present in all animal fats and many people are unwilling to scarify their preferred diet. The second is that the liver and other tissues synthesize cholesterol de novo if the dietary supply is inadequate.

For the 2008 study published in The Internet Journal of Cardiovascular Research, the researchersextracte d the oil from the seeds of Citrullus lanatus (egusi melon) and then determined its fatty acid composition.

The study was carried out by Olarewaju M. Oluba and Isaac O. Isiosio from the University of Benin, Benin City   and Olalekan Adeyemi from Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo State in collaboration with Godwin C. Ojieh from the College of Medicine Ambrose Alli University,  Ekpoma, Edo State. It was entitled, ”Fatty Acid Composition Of Citrullus Lanatus (Egusi Melon) Oil And Its Effect On Serum Lipids And Some Serum Enzymes.”

The extracted oil was then used in diet formulation and fed (as a supplement to cholesterol-based diet) to rats for a period of six weeks to determine its effect on blood lipids (Any major lipid in the circulation–total cholesterol, good High Density Lipoprotein or HDL, LDL, TGs) and some selected serum enzymes used to aid diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

The control rats were fed a diet containing 5 per cent cholesterol without egusi melon oil while the experimental rats received a diet containing 5 per cent cholesterol with 5 per cent egusi melon oil. The major lipids in circulation of the tested animals were then measured.

They wrote in the journal: “Egusi melon oil with a rich content of polyunsaturated fatty acid was found to produce a significant reduction in serum (blood) total, free and esterified cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. A similar corresponding significant reduction in serum activities of the enzymes were observed in the egusi melon oil-fed rats. In addition, feeding egusi melon oil to rats reduced severe atherosclerosis in the aorta.“

There were four main fatty acids in egusi melon seed oil. These are palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids, linoleic acid being the most abundant. 71.9 per cent of the fatty acid content of egusi melon seed oil are unsaturated out of which 14.5 per cent are monounsaturated fatty acids and the remaining 57.4 per cent are polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Linoleic acid and linolenic acid as well as other fatty acids have been reported to have protective effect against CHD. Studies have shown that linoleic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, lowers total and LDL cholesterol concentrations, which are established risk factors of CHD and also improves insulin sensitivity.

In conclusion, the researchers declared that “ the use of egusi melon oil as edible oil for cooking and frying and also as a food supplement especially in regions with high fat diets as staples is strongly recommended because of its high content of essential fatty acids and its positive health benefits on serum lipids.”

However, they stated that further studies are warranted to confirm their results and to determine the exact mechanism(s) by which egusi melon oil protects against coronary heart disease.

Certainly, changing what you eat can lower your cholesterol and ensure that a lesser amount of fats is floating through the bloodstream. Different foods lower cholesterol in various ways. Some deliver soluble fibre, which binds cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation. Some gives polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL. And some contain plant sterols and stanols, which block the body from absorbing cholesterol.

For instance, an easy step to ensure a safe cholesterol level is having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Beans, eggplant and okra are especially rich in soluble fibre that mops up cholesterol.  Substituting your cooking oil with vegetable oils, such as olive, canola and sunflower, helps to lower LDL. Fruits such as apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fibre that lowers LDL.

In addition, eating fishes two or three times a week can lower LDL by replacing meat, which has LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats. Omega-3s reduce triglycerides in the blood stream and also protect the heart by helping to prevent the onset of abnormal heart rhythms.

However, experts comparing the effectiveness of apple, oat and garden egg in lowering the bad cholesterol in the blood suggested that garden egg was the best.

Although apple and oat are common components of breakfast in Western countries, just as eggplant is widely consumed in Nigeria, researchers pointed out in a 2005 study published in the Pakistan Journal of Nutrition that “garden egg significantly reduced the total cholesterol and triglyceride as well as increase the HDL compared to oat and apple in both the mid-term and full-term studies.”

This study involving James Karho Edijala, Samuel Ogheneovo Asagba and Uzezi Atomatofa from the Department of Biochemistry, Delta State University, Abraka, in collaboration with George Edaghogho Eriyamremu from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Benin, Benin City, was entitled “Comparative Effect of Garden Egg Fruit, Oat and Apple on Serum Lipid in Rats Fed a High Cholesterol Diet.”

They wrote, “the results obtained indicate that garden egg plant significantly reduced weight gain of rats and feed efficiency compared with the other supplements.”

Apart from the lowering of blood cholesterol for the two and four weeks study periods showing a similar trend, they wrote the blood cholesterol-reduction of a diet containing oat, apple or oat can be detected after two weeks of feeding.