• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of enzyme-treated radish (Raphanus sativus L.) leaves on lipid metabolism in rats fed a high fat diet. Rats were divided into four experimental groups which were composed of a high fat diet group (HF group), a high fat diet with 10% radish leaf powder-supplemented group (MA group), a high fat diet with 5% enzyme-treated radish leaf powder-supplemented group (MB group) and a high fat diet with 10% enzyme-treated radish leaf powder-supplemented group (MC group). Total dietary fiber content of enzyme-treated radish leaves were greater than untreated radish leaves. Body weight gain and food efficiency ratio (FER) of the HF group increased compared to the MA, MB and MC groups. The serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and atherogenic index contents in the radish leaf powder-supplemented groups were lower than that of the HF group, while those values for the MB and MC groups were significantly lower than that of the HF group. The serum HDL-cholesterol contents of the MB and MC groups increased compared to the HF group. The hepatic triglyceride contents of the MA, MB and MC groups decreased compared to the HF group. In fact, the hepatic triglyceride contents of the MB and MC groups were significantly lower than the MA group. The hepatic total cholesterol contents of the MB and MC groups significantly decreased compared to those of the HF group. The fecal total cholesterol contents of the MA, MB and MC groups significantly increased compared to those of the HF group. These results indicate that supplementation with enzyme-treated radish leaves increase the useful fiber contents. Furthermore, it may have a pronounced impact on lipid metabolism of serum and liver in rats fed a high fat diet.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.308-314
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• 2012

Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is a cruciferous vegetable, and its leaves have antioxidant and anticancer properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of ethyl acetate extracts from radish leaves on hypertension in 11-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The SHRs were randomly divided into 3 groups of 6 rats each on the basis of initial systolic blood pressure (SBP) and were treated with oral administration of radish leaf extract (0, 30, or 90 mg/kg body weight [bw], respectively) for 5 weeks. Six Wistar rats were used as normotensive controls. The amount of the radish leaf extract had no effect on body weight. The SBP of the SHRs showed a decreasing trend with the consumption of the radish leaf extract. In the third week, the SBP of the group fed 90 mg extract/kg bw reduced from 214 mmHg to 166 mmHg and was significantly lower than that of the normotensive and hypertensive controls. The extract did not show a significant effect on the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in the serum, kidney, and lung. The extract increased the concentration of NO in serum and the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase and catalase in red blood cells (RBCs). The serum concentrations of $Na^+$ and $K^+$ were not significantly different between all groups. However, the fecal concentrations of $Na^+$ and $K^+$ increased; the fecal concentrations of $Na^+$ and$K^+$for the normotensive and hypertensive controls were not different. Urinary excretion of $Na^+$ was higher in the normotensive Wistar rats than in the SHRs, while that of $K^+$ was not significantly different. These findings indicate that consumption of radish leaves might have had antihypertensive effects in SHRs by increasing the serum concentration of NO and fecal concentration of $Na^+$ and enhancing antioxidant activities.