Abstract

EFFECT OF LOTUS SEED POWDER SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AND SERUM LIPID PROFILE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA

Sai Kripa O. and Dr. Sheba Jeyaraj

Abstract

Background: Social inequality, poverty and inequitable access to resources, including health care, result in a high burden of non – communicable disease (NCDs) among women worldwide. Objective: To determine the effect of lotus seed powder supplementation on the Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference and serum lipid profile (SLP) in postmenopausal women with hypercholesterolemia. Method: Thirty postmenopausal women (45 – 60 years) with a serum total cholesterol (TC) level between 200 – 239 mg/dl (borderline-high) were selected and equally divided (n=15) into two groups, that is, Group I (Control group without supplementation but with diet counseling) and Group II (Test group with supplementation and diet counseling) for the study The subjects in Group II were instructed to consume 6 grams of the lotus seed powder dissolved in 200 ml of water, half an hour before bed time every day for a period of 60 days. Results: Statistically significant reductions were seen in the anthropometric measurements of the subjects in the test group after the supplementation period .Reductions were observed in all the lipid parameters (except HDL – C) in the test group compared to increments observed in the control group. The HDL – C showed a mild increment in the test group, whereas, a significant reduction was observed in the control group. Statistically significant higher percentage reductions were observed in the BMI and waist circumference of the subjects in Group II by 1.9% and 1.7% respectively compared to statistically significant increment of 1.7% in the BMI of the subjects in Group I. Regarding the SLP - TC, LDL, Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL), Serum TG, TC: HDL ratio and TG: HDL ratio reduced by 3.0%, 4.1%, 7.7%, 7.6%, 6.2% and 10.7% respectively in Group II compared to increments by 3.5%, 7.9%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 9% and 7.3% respectively in Group I. Conclusion: Lotus seed powder supplementation can be advocated as an effective hypolipidemic agent for combating dyslipidemia, which is independently responsible for increased CHD mortality among Indian women.

Keywords: Lotus seed powder, Coronary Heart Disease, Dyslipidemia, Cardiovascular disease.