Abstract
Background: Thaumatococcus daniellii (Benn.) Benth is one of the monocotyledonous herbs
found in rain forests and coastal areas of West and Central Africa. This study investigated the
antioxidant, hypolipidaemic and hepatoprotective roles of perinatal Thaumatococcus daniellii
leaf supplemented diet in offspring of Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: Twenty-four (24)
pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used and fed either a control diet or Thaumatococcus
daniellii leaf supplemented diet (TDLSD). The dams were given TDLSD diet up to parturition
(in-utero group, IUG), or from birth to post-natal day 21 (lactation group, LG) or for a period
covering both, combined (CG). On postnatal day 90, blood sample was collected via retroorbital puncture to obtain serum sample for the determination of cholesterol (CHOL),
triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and
hepatic lipase (HL). Aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT),
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was investigated. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) reduced
glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), malonaldehyde (MDA) were investigated. Results: There
was no significant difference (p<0.05) in CHOL, LDL, and HDL levels in LG and CG
offspring while TG significantly (p<0.05) decreased in IUG, and CG compared with control.
HL increased significantly (p<0.05), ALT, AST and ALP significantly decrease (p<0.05) while
GSH, SOD and CAT upregulated in IUG, LG and CG compared with CONT. MDA
downregulated(p<0.05) in IUG, LG and CG compared with CONT. Conclusion: This study
provides evidence that perinatal Thaumatococcus daniellii leaf supplemented diet possesses
antioxidant, lipid lowering and hepatoprotective potentials in offspring of Sprague-Dawley rats
though it was observed that in-utero exposure produced more effect hence, it’s dependent on
the window of exposure.