Protective effects of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.) against high‐fat‐induced oxidative stress

• Published in: Food science & nutrition Vol. 7; no. 12; pp. 4063 - 4075
• Main Authors: Liu, Dandan, Guan, Xiao, Huang, Kai, Li, Sen, Liu, Jing, Yu, Wenwen, Duan, Ruiqian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.2019; Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons); John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: antioxidant capacity; Antioxidants; Beans; Bioengineering; Cholesterol; Chronic illnesses; Density; Diet; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Ethanol; ethanol extracts; Flavonoids; Free radicals; Gene expression; High cholesterol diet; High fat diet; Hyperlipidemia; Investigations; Iron; Laboratory animals; Legumes; Lipids; Lipoproteins; Liver; Malondialdehyde; mung beans; Oleic acid; Original Research; Oxidative stress; Peas; Peroxidation; Polyphenols; Potassium; Signs and symptoms; Vigna radiata; China; mung beans; peas; antioxidant capacity; ethanol extracts
• ISSN: 2048-7177; 2048-7177
• DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.1271

Hyperlipidemia is closely related to oxidative stress, and it has been proved that the intake of legumes can protect the body from chronic diseases related to oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of mung beans and peas against high‐fat‐diet‐induced rats. It was found that, with 50% addition of mung beans or peas, the intake of mung beans and peas could significantly restore the levels of serum total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol. Liver staining also showed that high‐fat diet (HFD) led to liver lesions, whereas whole‐grain intake could significantly relieve these symptoms. Compared with the HFD group, the antioxidant defense system and antioxidant gene expression in administered legume groups improved markedly. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of the two legume extracts were determined. Characterization showed that the ethanol extracts of mung beans and peas possessed high antioxidant activities, for their ability to scavenge ABTS and DPPH, reduce Fe3+ and their antilipid peroxidation capacity. Treatments with ethanol extracts at different doses could restore the levels of intracellular lipid, malondialdehyde, and antioxidant enzyme activities in oleic acid‐induced HepG2 cells. All these results suggested that mung beans and peas or their extracts may be utilized as good candidates of natural antioxidant agents. Intake of mung bean and pea could dramatically alleviate the serum and liver lipid profile of the high‐fat‐diet‐induced rats and markedly improved the antioxidant defense system and antioxidant gene expression. Characterization showed that the ethanol extracts of mung beans and peas possessed high antioxidant activities in vitro. Treatments with ethanol extracts at different doses could restore the levels of intracellular lipid, malondialdehyde, and antioxidant enzyme activities in oleic acid‐induced HepG2 cells.The main contribution of this paper is to validate the antioxidant capacity of mung beans and peas by animal experiments in vivo, chemical experiments in vitro, and HepG2 cell antioxidant experiments. In addition, the interaction between legumes and the rats fed with HFD was studied by HE staining and gene expression.