Kishk Sa′eedi as a potential functional food for management of metabolic syndrome: A study of the possible interaction with pomegranate seed oil and/ or gum Arabic

Introduction: In the present research, the health benefits of the traditional Egyptian food called Kishk Sa′eedi (KS) and KS mixed with gum Arabic (GA) or with a mixture of GA and pomegranate seed oil (PSO) were studied in a rat model of metabolic syndrome (MS) induced by feeding high fructose high hydrogenated fat diet (HFFD). Methods: Rats were divided into a normal control group (NC) fed on a balanced diet (Diet 1), a MS control (MSC) receiving HFFD (Diet 2), and three test groups feeding on HFFD containing KS (Diet 3), KS with GA (Diet 4), and KS with GA and PSO (Diet 5), respectively for five weeks. Biochemical and histopathological changes were assessed. Results: Significant increase in blood glucose, plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea, creatinine, uric acid, malondialdehyde (MDA), dyslipidemia and reduction in reduced glutathione (GSH) were demonstrated in MSC compared to NC (P < 0.05). Significant elevation in liver fat, MDA and gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) with significant down-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR-α) were noticed in MSC compared to NC (P < 0.05). The three test diets improved plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), uric acid, MDA, liver PPAR-α and IL-6 expression (P < 0.05) compared to MSC without affecting liver lipids. Blood glucose, plasma dyslipidemia, AST, creatinine and urea were improved by diet 3 and diet 5 (P < 0.05). Diet 3 elevated GSH and reduced ALT and MDA (P < 0.05). Histopathological changes induced by HFFD in both liver and kidney showed variable improvement by feeding the tested diets. Conclusion: The tested diets significantly improved MS rat model with superiority to diet 3.