Effect of apple peel powder and pomace extract on hyperlipidemic health indices of albino Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is now considered a significant concern due to changes in human dietary lifestyles. These challenges have shifted the trend toward plant-based foods, as fruit parts and their extracts have shown therapeutic potential against several diseases due to their unique nutritional profile. In this study, the antihyperlipidemic activities of apple peel powder (APP) and apple pomace extract (APE) were examined in Wistar rats. RESULTS: The results showed a significant (P < 0.05) decline in total cholesterol (from 268.5 to 96.5 mg dL⁻¹), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 200 to 43.6 mg dL⁻¹) and triglyceride (from 198.45 to 98.14 mg dL⁻¹), and a significant (P < 0.05) increase (from 28.2 to 34.3 mg dL⁻¹) in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was investigated. Heart histopathology revealed a significant (P < 0.05) improvement in myocardial degenerative and necrotic changes. Alongside, T₄ (100 g kg⁻¹ APE) revealed a significant (P < 0.05) improvement in liver parameters such as alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), which were also reduced in T₁ (50 g kg⁻¹ APP), T₂ (100 g kg⁻¹ APP) and T₃ (50 g kg⁻¹ APE). The highest bilirubin was noted in T_PC (2.9 mg dL⁻¹), whereas T₄ showed the lowest values i.e., 1.5 mg dL⁻¹. Furthermore, the findings for body and organ weights showed a notable decline for heart, kidney, liver, lungs and spleen. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study demonstrated a comparable impact of APP and APE at a dose of 100 g kg⁻¹ supplementation, which has shown antihyperlipidemic activity in rats fed a high-fat diet. However, toxicological safety studies are needed to ascertain their dependent responses in humans.