Hypocholesterolemic effect of unripe banana ( Musa sapientum ) peel and fruit extract on lard and dexamethasone-induced dyslipidemia of male white rats (Rattus norvegicus).

        The study was intended to determine the hypocholesterolemic effect of banana (Musa sapientum) peel and fruit extract on lard and dexamethasone-induced dyslipidemia of male white rats. This study is a quantitative experimental research design wherein a randomized controlled trial was used. The extraction of the unripe banana peel and fruit extract was conducted at Cebu Doctors' University Research Laboratory under the supervision of a laboratory technician. The experimentation phase of the study was conducted at Cebu Doctors' University Animal Research Laboratory guided by a licensed veterinarian. Analysis of the total cholesterol was done at Prime Care Laboratories, Cebu City.
        Fifteen (15) male white rats that had no lesions and bruises, were not sickly and were not used in previous experiments were acquired for the study. The rats were acclimatized under laboratory conditions for fifteen days and were given food and water ad libitum. Baseline cholesterol levels were then determined at 60-100 mg/dl after the last day of acclimatization. After acclimatization, the rats were then fed with lard incorporated into their diets to raise cholesterol levels above 130 mg/dl. Every five days for fifteen days their cholesterol levels were measured. Lard did raise their cholesterol levels yet it was not enough to reach the optimal level of 130 mg/dl. The researchers, as guided by the veterinarian, opted to use dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid to raise the cholesterol levels. The rats were then randomly grouped into three groups: Lipitor group as the positive control and two experimental groups, unripe banana peel extract and unripe banana fruit extract. The rats were treated accordingly with the extracts and Lipitor for ten days. Based on the findings, both unripe banana peel extract (78.00±3.39 mg/dl) and unripe banana fruit extract (67.75±9.74 mg/dl) were able to lower the cholesterol levels of the male white rats in comparison with the positive control, Lipitor (82.25±16.94 mg/dl). This is attributable to the substance pectin which inhibits bile acid absorption and also by reducing cholesterol absorption (Leveille & Sauberlich, 1966). The mean cholesterol level from the three groups was computed and one-way ANOVA showed that there was no significant mean blood cholesterol level difference across treatment condition, F(2,10) = 0.676 and p > 0.05 and, F(2,10) = 1.881 and p > 0.05 on the 5th and 10th day of post-treatment respectively.
        To conclude, unripe banana fruit extract and unripe banana peel extract were both effective in lowering the cholesterol levels of the male white rats. However, the mean blood cholesterol levels of the rats obtained after the administration of the two extracts were close to the levels of the positive control, thereby giving no significant difference between the total cholesterol levels of the experimental and control group. Regardless of its ability to mimic the lowering capability of the commercial drug, both extracts caused significantly lower blood cholesterol levels in comparison to the positive control group since the unripe banana peel and fruit extract both had high amounts of cholesterol-lowering pectin.