Anthocyanins from Purple Sweet Potato Are Hypolipidemic and Antioxidative in Rats

The paper studied the hypolipidemic and antioxidative activities of anthocyanins from purple sweet potato (APSP). Sixty rats were randomly divided into five groups, namely the control group, model group and three experimental groups which were given three concentrations of APSP (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg) respectively for 7 weeks. The control group fed normal rat chow, and the other four groups fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Lipid status, antioxidant status and histopathological changes were investigated. Results showed that oxidative injury, lipid abnormalities and histopathological changes were induced by a HFD, and these changes were partially restored in the APSP- treated groups. Results demonstrated that APSP possess hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects in vivo, and could amend the histopathological changes in liver.