Red palm oil supplementation ameliorates oxidative stress in rats injected with tert-butylhydroperoxide

Potential benefits of dietary supplementation as quenching agent against oxidative stress-related conditions has been extensively investigated. Red palm oil (RPO), from the tropical plant Elaeis guineensis has captivated much interest in the health sector lately; hence the aim to assess the potential effects of RPO supplementation on the antioxidant status and protection against oxidative damage in experimentally-induced oxidative stress male Wistar rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=5). Rats were fed 0.175g RPO (7g RPO/kg chow) supplementation for 6 weeks. Oxidative stress was induced by intraperitoneal injections of 0.5mL (20μM/100g of body weight) organic tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP). All parameters were determined in plasma and erythrocytes by using appropriate methods. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM. Exposure to t-BHP caused a significant increase in malondialdehydes (MDA) levels in plasma of non-supplemented rats. MDA was significantly reduced by RPO-supplementation. This proved that RPO-supplementation reduced the increase in MDA level induced by t-BHP injection, thereby protecting cellular integrity against induced oxidative stress. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased significantly (p<0.05) in group supplemented with RPO not induced with oxidative stress. This suggests that RPO supplementation could also improve antioxidant status in a biological system. RPO supplementation offers a protective effect against lipid peroxidation in an oxidative stress-induced biological system and that RPO supplementation had potential benefits in improving antioxidant status.