Effects of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods on Lipid Profile and Atherogenic Indices in Isoniazid-exposed Rats

Abstract

Oxidative stress can alter lipid metabolism and promote changes in circulating lipoproteins that may increase atherogenic risk. Isoniazid, although an essential first-line antituberculosis agent, has been associated experimentally with oxidative stress and disturbances in lipid homeostasis. This study evaluated the effects of nutraceutical antioxidants and functional foods comprising tomato, cabbage and Moringa oleifera on the serum lipid profile and derived atherogenic indices in isoniazid-exposed rats. Experimental rats were allocated to normal control, isoniazid control, nutraceutical, functional-food, concurrent isoniazid plus nutraceutical, concurrent isoniazid plus functional-food, post-oxidative-stress nutraceutical and post-oxidative-stress functional-food groups. Total cholesterol and triglycerides were determined by enzymatic colourimetric methods, HDL-C was determined using a precipitation-based method, and LDL-C was estimated using the Friedewald equation. Cardio risk ratio (CRR), atherogenic coefficient (AC) and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) were calculated from the lipid measurements. Data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation, and the level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Isoniazid administration increased total cholesterol from 2.817 ± 0.121 to 3.533 ± 0.095 mmol/L, triglycerides from 3.333 ± 0.115 to 4.610 ± 0.090 mmol/L and LDL-C from 1.210 ± 0.110 to 2.020 ± 0.095 mmol/L. CRR increased from 2.480 to 2.765, AC from 1.480 to 1.765 and AIP from 0.461 to 0.566. Antioxidant interventions produced treatment-dependent changes in the lipid profile. Functional-food treatment during isoniazid exposure reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-C to 1.813 ± 0.158, 3.097 ± 0.100 and 1.017 ± 0.100 mmol/L, respectively. The lowest CRR and AC occurred in the post-oxidative-stress functional-food group, whereas AIP remained variable because of concurrent changes in triglycerides and HDL-C. Isoniazid exposure was associated with an adverse shift in the serum lipid profile and increased atherogenic indices. Nutraceutical and functional-food interventions ameliorated several of these changes, although the magnitude and direction of effect varied across lipid fractions. Functional foods showed particularly strong effects on total cholesterol, LDL-C and derived CRR/AC. These findings suggest that antioxidant-rich foods may modulate isoniazid-associated dyslipidaemia, but interpretation of atherogenic risk should consider the complete lipid profile rather than isolated lipid fractions.