Five Selected Underutilized Leafy Vegetables as Functional Foods in management of induced Myocardial Infarction in Male Wistar Albino Rats.

These selected five leafy vegetables (Solanum nigrum L. var. virginicum (Black nightshade), Basella alba Linn. var. alba, Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore, Senecio biafrae Oliv. & Hiern. and Launaea taraxacifolia Amin Ex. C. Jeffrey (Wild lettuce) are eaten in villages of South-Western Nigeria. This study evaluated their bio-protective potential in Isoproterenol-induced Myocardial Infarction in male Wistar albino rats.

Dried aerial parts of the selected vegetables were extracted with cold distill water using maceration techniques.

The isoproterenol-induced (ISO) myocardial infarction model was evaluated in 42 male Wistar albino rats (150 g to 200 g), randomized into7 groups of 6 rats each. Group 1(normal control) received saline, groups 2 to 6 were pretreated with 200 mg kg^-1 bw^-1 of each plant extract as well as the mixture (1:1:1:1:1) (group 7) while group 8 served as ISO control for 28 days. Then ISO drug dose of 20 mg kg^-1 bw^-1 was subcutaneously administered on day 29 and 30 in groups 2 – 7. The animals were sacrificed on day 31 and subsequently Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C- reactive protein (CRP) were assayed using the supernatant from heart homogenates. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 20 was used for the statistical analyses.

The highest concentrations of LDH and CRP were recorded in ISO control group not pre-treated with the vegetables extracts. A significant decline were apparent (P < 0.05) in the parameters monitored in groups 2 – 7 compared to controls. This result submits that the normal levels of LDH and CRP obtained from the vegetables pre-treated animals may be crucial in mitigating the impact of ISO and thus these leafy vegetables would be useful as functional foods and may be a good candidate for further studies.