Baixe o app para aproveitar ainda mais
Prévia do material em texto
REVIEW Effects of Avocado (Persea americana) on Metabolic Syndrome: A Comprehensive Systematic Review Jamshid Tabeshpour,1,2 Bibi Marjan Razavi3 and Hossein Hosseinzadeh4* 1Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 3Targeted Drug Delivery Research Center, Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 4Pharmaceutical Research Center, Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of risk factors including high blood glucose, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity that lead to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which are among leading causes of death in the world. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and CVDs by approximately five and three folds, respectively. Therefore, it is of vital importance to manage such conditions with herbal options which have less undesirable adverse effects and may be more efficacious in comparison with synthetic options. Avocado is a well-known source of carotenoids, minerals, phenolics, vitamins, and fatty acids. The lipid-lowering, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antithrombotic, antiatherosclerotic, and cardioprotective effects of avocado have been demonstrated in several studies. In this review, we aimed to find out avocado’s pharmacological effects on different components of MetS. Moreover, this review report is performed on the MetS effects of peel, seed, flesh, and leaves of avocado. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Keywords: avocado; Persea americana; metabolic syndrome; cardiovascular diseases; obesity; diabetes. Abbreviations: A1CE, angiotensin 1 converting enzyme; ADI, adiposity index; AID, alloxan-induced diabetic; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ALT, alanine transaminase; APTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; AST, aspartate transaminase; BGLs, blood glucose levels; BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; CAT, catalase; CVDs, cardiovascular diseases; DPPH, l, l-diphenyl, 2-picrylhydrazyl; FASN, fatty acid synthase; FBG, fasting blood glucose; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GR, glutathione reductase; HCD, high-cholesterol diet; HCh, hypercholesterolemic; HFD, high-fat diet; HR, heart rate; LPL, lipoprotein lipase; MDA, malondialdehyde; MetS, Metabolic syndrome; P. Americana, Persea Americana; PLs, phospholipids; PPAR-γ, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ; PT, prothrombin time; SID, streptozotocin-induced diabetic; SOD, superoxide dismutase; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; TC, total cholesterol; TFP, total fat pad mass; TG, triglyceride, LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; VLDL, very-low-density lipoprotein INTRODUCTION Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clinical entity markedly heterogeneous, characterized by the co-occurrence of multiple changes in obesity, insulin-resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, correlated with an enhanced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (Wu et al., 2010). Metabolic syndrome is regarded as an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries (Smith and Ryckman, 2015). There are several criteria set out by different associations for MetS definition and diagnosis. The most generally accepted definition consists of three or more of the following indicators: blood pressure (BP) > 135/ 85 mmHg, fasting blood glucose (FBG) > 6.1 mmol/L, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) < 1.0 mmol/ L (male) or <1.3 mmol/L (female), triglyceride (TG) > 1.7 mmol/L and waist circumference > 102 cm (male) or >88 cm (female) (Malik et al., 2004; Grundy et al., 2005). Medicinal plants have been used as an accepted complementary medical option for centuries to improve the health condition of the folk through decreasing the adverse effects and costs of the synthetic medicines (Hassani et al., 2016; Rouhi-Boroujeni et al., 2015). In developing countries, more than 80% of the population use traditional medicinal plants to treat a variety of diseases (Rouhi-Boroujeni et al., 2015). Although herbs are regarded as ‘natural’ and safe, many different side effects have been reported because of active ingredients, contaminants, or interactions with drugs. Moreover, there is limited evidence regarding the use of herbal medicines during pregnancy as well as in pediatric and geriatric populations (Izzo et al., 2016). These days, plants are regarded as a valuable source to treat the various components of MetS including obesity, * Correspondence to: Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Pharmaceutical Research Center, Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. E-mail: hosseinzadehh@mums.ac.ir PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH Phytother. Res. (2017) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/ptr.5805 Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 16 January 2017 Revised 27 February 2017 Accepted 02 March 2017 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3483-851X hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. In this regard, it is very important to find and utilize medicinal plants, and their constituents with beneficial effects on MetS to replace with synthetic medicines. For instance, cinnamon; garlic; grape; black cumin, saffron and its constituent, thymoquinone; and rutin have shown promising effects on MetS (Mollazadeh and Hosseinzadeh, 2016; Hosseini and Hosseinzadeh, 2015; Akaberi and Hosseinzadeh, 2016; Razavi and Hosseinzadeh, 2014; Hosseinzadeh and Nassiri-Asl, 2014; Razavi and Hosseinzadeh, 2016). Avocado with the scientific name of Persea americana (P. americana), and other names such as ‘alligator pear’, ‘avocato’, ‘ahuacate’ etc., from the Lauraceae family, originated in Mexico and Central or South America, is an evergreen tree that can reach the height of 10 m or more (Dreher and Davenport, 2013; Lacerda et al., 2015). It is also known as ‘alligator pear’ or ‘butter pear’ (Lacerda et al., 2015). Avocado is consumed, not only for its flavor, but also for its high nutritional value and beneficial health effects (Meyer and Terry, 2010) including hypoglycaemic (Ezejiofor et al., 2013a), antihypertensive (Dzeufiet et al., 2014), antioxidant (Nagaraj et al., 2010), anti-obesity (Monika and Geetha, 2016), hypolipidemic (Pahua-Ramos et al., 2012) (Fig. 4), antilithiasis (Wientarsih et al., 2012), anticonvulsant (Ojewole and Amabeoku, 2006), antimicrobial (Pradeep et al., 2012), antiprotozoal and antimycobacterial (Jiménez-Arellanes et al., 2013), hepatoprotective (Mahmoed and Rezq, 2013), antiosteoarthritis (Christiansen et al., 2015) and chemo-protective (Paul et al., 2011). Avocado composition analysis has shown that this plant is nutritionally valuable. The most important bioactive phytochemicals of avocado are categorized into: Carotenoids, fatty acids, minerals, phenolics and polyphenolic compounds, phytosterols and phytostanols, proteins, seven-carbon sugars, and vitamins (Table 1). The pharmacologically active constituents of this plant have been also shown to possess antifungal, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant activity in some studies (Lu et al., 2005; Sudhir, 2005). Furthermore, daily consumption of phytosterols and phytostanols decreases the serum levels of cholesterol, because of similar structures, leading to the prevention of CVDs and also potential protection in the number of cancer development (Awad and Fink, 2000; Piironen et al., 2000; Kritchevsky and Chen, 2005). For instance, an in vitro study showed that the avocado pulp, specifically tocopherols, lutein, and other carotenoids (as active constituents), possess growth inhibitory effects against cancer (Luet al., 2009). Fig. 2 shows the structural comparison of the bioactive constituents of avocado such as phytosterols, phytostanols, and cholesterol. Some of the most abundant pharmacologically active constituents of avocado phytochemicals are structurally shown in Fig. 3. Our review aimed to evaluate the effect of different bioactive phytochemicals of avocado on various components of MetS including T2DM, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity, and to describe different mechanisms of action. Moreover, in this review, 186 articles were found, among which 129 were revised and included (Fig. 1). Effect on high glucose level Type 2 diabetes mellitus is known as a metabolic disorder which results from a failure in insulin secretion, action or both (Rao and Adinew, 2011). This can lead to micro-vascular and macro-vascular difficulties which chronically cause the malfunctioning of central and peripheral nervous system, kidney, eye, and cardiovascular system (Brahmachari, 2011). Besides, it is one of the main causes of mortality, morbidity, and health center costs in the world. According to the global reports on diabetes by the World Health Organization, the number of people suffering from diabetes has been 108 million in 1980 which has augmented to 422 million in 2014 (Collaboration, NCDRF, 2016). Many studies have been accomplished on the antidiabetic effects of avocado in different experimental models (human, in vivo and in vitro) which are discussed in the succeeding text (Table 2). Table 1. The most abundant bioactive components of avocado Categories Bioactive constituents References Carotenoids Lutein, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene (Koh et al., 2004) Fatty acids Monounsaturated (oleic and palmitic acids), unsaturated (linoleic, palmitoleic, and linolenic acids) (Ozdemir and Topuz, 2004; Vekiari et al., 2004) Minerals Calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium (Dreher and Davenport, 2013) Phenolics and polyphenolic compounds Phenolic acids (hydroxybenzoic and hydrocinnamic acids), flavonoids (rutin), stilbenes (resveratrol), coumarins, and tannins (tannic acid) (Golan et al., 1977; Kahn, 1983; Rodríguez-Carpena et al., 2011) Phytosterols and phytostanols β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol (Moghadasian and Frohlich, 1999; Dreher and Davenport, 2013)β-sitostanol, campestanol, and stigmastanol Proteins Asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid (Ahmed and Barmore 1980) Seven-carbon sugars D-mannoheptulose and perseitol (its reduced form polyol) (Liu et al., 1999) Vitamins Vitamin A, vitamin B (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folate, and choline), betaine, vitamin C, vitamin E (α-tocopherol, β-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol), and vitamin K1 (Dreher and Davenport, 2013) J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Clinical studies In a randomized crossover study, 12 women with T2DM received two different diets. One received a high monounsaturated fatty acids diet (including oleic acid from avocado and olive oil) and the other received a high-complex carbohydrates diet for 4 weeks. The results showed that the first diet maintained an adequate glycemic control and offered a good management alternative (Lerman-Garber et al., 1994). Another randomized clinical trial, investigated on 26 healthy overweight subjects, revealed that consumption of half of a Hass avocado significantly reduced the blood insulin and glucagon-like peptide-1 levels. It was concluded that D-mannoheptulose may be responsible for hypoglycemic effect by glycolysis decline via hexokinase inhibition and weight control via appetite reduction (Sabaté et al., 2015). In addition, the results of Wien et al. investigation on healthy overweight adults showed that avocado in lunch meal attenuated the rise in postprandial blood insulin levels 30 min after start of the lunch meal and diminished the desire to eat as compared with the avocado-free control which could be because of its anti-obesity effect (Wien et al., 2013). In vivo studies Lima et al. investigated the hypoglycemic properties of avocado and observed that oral administration of the Figure 2. The structural comparison of phytosterols, phytostanols, and cholesterol (the bioactive constituents of avocado). Figure 1. Flow chart of systematic literature search showing the included and excluded studies. AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves (0.15 and 0.3 g/kg/day, for 4 weeks) to streptozotocin-induced diabetic (SID) rats, reduced blood glucose levels (BGLs) while the metabolic state of the animals improved. They proposed that the mechanism of this effect could be regulating the glucose uptake in liver and muscles through Akt/PKB activation and consequently restoring the intracellular energy balance (Lima et al., 2012). The SID rats which received ethanolic extract of P. americana fruit (300 mg/kg/day, orally for 4 weeks), showed a decrease in the raised BGLs, glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb), blood urea, and serum creatinine. It also increased the levels of plasma insulin and Hb (Rao and Adinew, 2011). Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were orally treated with avocado oil (1 mL/250 g/day, for 3 months). Avocado oil diminished reactive oxygen species levels, lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, the activity of complex III of the electron transport chain, and TG levels in the brain while improved the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio and brain mitochondrial function (Ortiz-Avila et al., 2015a). Furthermore, the hypoglycemic activity of n-hexane fraction from hydro-methanolic (2:3) extract of P. americana fruit (300 mg/kg, orally for 8 weeks) was evaluated in SID rats. Body weight, serum levels of insulin, hepatic, and skeletal muscle glycogen, activities of hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzymes in liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, and cardiac muscle increased. While a significant decrease in FBG levels, glycosylated Hb (which is one of the most important indicators of diabetic condition) and the reduced activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) enzymes in serum were observed (Thenmozhi et al., 2012). The glucose tolerance and insulin resistance reducing effects of avocado oil were investigated in sucrose-induced diabetic rats which can result from adding 5–20% of avocado oil to the diet (Del Toro-Equihua et al., 2016). Aqueous extract of avocado seed (300 and 600 mg/kg) showed a significant reduction in BGLs, especially with the higher dose, in alloxan-induced diabetic (AID) rats. The histological investigation revealed a degenerative effect on the pancreatic islet cells in diabetic rats which indicated that the aqueous extract of avocado seed had a protective effect on these cells. This study confirmed the significant hypoglycemic effect of avocado seed (Edem et al., 2009). The antidiabetic effect of the aqueous extract of avocado seed (400, 800 and 1200 mg/kg) was also investigated in AID rats and a significant decrease in FBG was observed (Alhassan et al., 2012). The hypoglycemic and tissue-protective effects of the hot-water extract of P. americana seeds (20, 30, 40 g/L, for 3 weeks) were investigated in AID rats. It was shown that the extract had a significant hypoglycaemic effect and reversed the histopathological damage that occurred in AID rats, comparable with the effects of glibenclamide (Ezejiofor et al., 2013b). Reduction in oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species production was observed in the liver mitochondria of the SID rats which were treated with avocado oil (4 mL/kg) for 3 months. The oil also normalized the serum levels of cholesterol, TG, and induced weight gain. This study showed that avocado oil attenuated the harmful effects of diabetes on oxidative condition of liver mitochondria (Ortiz-Avila et al., 2015b). Antia et al.indicated that the aqueous leaf Figure 3. Some of pharmacologically active constituents of avocado. Figure 4. Experimentally observed effects of different parts of avocado in respect of pharmacological actions. A: leaves. B: pulp. C: oil. D: peel. E: seed. J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Table 2. Antidiabetic effects of avocado Part(s) of the plant used/ Extract(s) Active constituents Dosage (mg/kg/day)/ Route/ duration of treatment Experimental model Outcome Reference Clinical trials Oil/Avocado oil- enhanced diet MUFA (oleic acid) Not mentioned/p.o./ 4 weeks T2DM humans ↓FBG (Lerman-Garber et al., 1994) Hass/Avocado oil- enhanced diet D-mannoheptulose 0.5 Hass avocado/p.o. /3 days Healthy overweight humans ↑Leptin (Sabaté et al., 2015) ↓Blood insulin levels ↓GLP-1 Animal studies Leaves/Hydroalcoholic flavonoids 150 and 300/p.o./ 4 weeks SID rats Activation of Akt/PKB (Lima et al., 2012) Pulp/Ethanolic Fatty acids and amino aids 300/p.o./4 weeks SID rats ↑Plasma insulin (Rao and Adinew, 2011)↑Hb ↓BGLs and Glycosylated Hb ↓Blood urea ↓Serum creatinine ↓AST, ALT and ALP Oil/Not mentioned Carotenoids, tocopherols, chlorophylls, vitamins, and oleic acid 4 (mL/kg)/p.o./ 3 months SID rats ↑GSH/GSSG ratio (Ortiz-Avila et al., 2015a)↓ROS ↓Complex III activity ↓TG Pulp/Hydro-methanolic Not mentioned 300/p.o./2 months SID rats ↑Body weight (Thenmozhi et al., 2012)↑Insulin and Glycogen ↑Hexokinase and G6PD activities ↓FBG ↓Glycosylated Hb ↓AST and ALT Oil/Avocado oil- enhanced diet MUFAs and PUFAs 5% (50 g oil + 950 g feed pellets),10%,20%, 30%/p.o./2 months Sucrose-induced diabetic rats ↓Glucose tolerance (Del Toro-Equihua et al., 2016)↓Insulin resistance Seeds/Aqueous Not mentioned 300 and 600/p.o./ 3 weeks AID rats ↓BGLs (Edem et al., 2009) Seeds/Aqueous Flavonoids, minerals 400, 800, and 1200/p. o./4 weeks AID rats ↓FBG (Alhassan et al., 2012) Seeds/Aqueous Flavonoids etc. 20, 30, 40 (g/L)/p.o. /3 weeks AID rats ↑Body weight (Ezejiofor et al., 2013b)↓FBG Oil/Avocado oil- enhanced diet Oleic acid 4 (mL/kg)/p.o./ 3 months SID rats ↑Body weight (Ortiz-Avila et al., 2015b)↓Oxidative stress ↓Lipid peroxidation ↓ROS production ↓Cholesterol and TG Leaves/Aqueous Saponins, tannins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and polysaccharides 100, 150, and 200/p. o./1 week AID rats ↓BGLs (Antia et al., 2005) Leaves/Ethanolic Not mentioned Not mentioned/p.o. /6 weeks SID rats ↑Hepatic glycogen (Gondwe et al., 2007) ↓FBG Seeds/Ethanolic Not mentioned 450 and 900/p.o./Not mentioned Normal and AID rats ↓BGLs (Edem, 2009) Leaves/Aqueous and methanolic Not mentioned 10/p.o./10 weeks HCD rats ↓BGLs (Brai et al., 2007b) ↓TC ↓LDL-C (Continues) AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) extract of avocado (100, 150, and 200 mg/kg, for 1 week) significantly reduced the BGLs in AID rats (Antia et al., 2005). In a study, it was demonstrated that P. americana leaf ethanolic extracts exerted hypoglycemic effects via increase in hepatic glycogen concentrations and decrease in FBG in a dose-dependent fashion in SID rats (Gondwe et al., 2007). The effect of ethanolic seed extracts of P. americana at the doses of 450 and 900 mg/kg on normal and AID rats was investigated in another study. The extracts consumption significantly reduced BGLs in AID rats in a dose-dependent manner and to a lesser extent in normal rats. This also confirms the antidiabetic effect of this plant (Edem, 2009). The hypoglycemic and hypercholesterolemic (HCh) effect of P. americana leaf extracts (10 mg/kg, for 8 weeks) were investigated in high-cholesterol diet (HCD) rats. Aqueous and methanolic extracts induced a decrease in total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) while plasma HDL-C concentrations increased significantly. This could be an alternative approach in the management of atherosclerosis (Brai et al., 2007b). In vitro studies The antidiabetic effect of avocado was assessed in an in vitro model of rat’s pancreas (tissue homogenates). The aqueous extracts of leaves, peel, flesh, and seed of avocado inhibited α-amylase (in the range of 0–0.164 mg/mL), α-glucosidase (in the range of 0–0.4 mg/mL), and the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) (in the range of 0–0.313 mg/mL). They also showed NO° and 2, 20-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline- 6-sulphonic acid) radical scavenging activity, which can be considered as one of the possible mechanisms of T2DM management in a dose-dependent way (Ajani and Olanrewaju, 2014). Besides, the methanolic and aqueous extracts of avocado leaves indicated α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in an in vitro model. They showed that avocado leaves could be considered as a potential source for diabetes management (Uysal et al., 2015). The P. americana leaves were examined for protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitory activity which is a relevant mechanism involved in insulin resistance in T2DM. This inhibitory effect of the extract was concentration-dependent (0.01–300 μg/mL) (Marrero-Faz et al., 2014). In another study, it was shown that avocado had a low glycemic index, potent antioxidant activity, α-amylase and α- glucosidase inhibition activities, which can be the possible mechanisms of avocado antidiabetic effects (Oboh et al., 2015). In an in vitro model, it was demonstrated that avocado affected the glucose diffusion across the gastrointestinal tract and decreased in vitro glucose movement more than 50% (Gallagher et al., 2003). In vitro studies, consistent with clinical and in vivo experiments, revealed that avocado showed antidiabetic effects via regulating the glucose uptake in liver and reducing glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. EFFECT ON LIPID PROFILE Dyslipidemia is described as high levels of lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides, or both) carried by lipoproteins in the blood, and is a common risk factor of CVDs (Miller, 2009). It is defined as high cholesterol >200 mg/dL, low HDL < 40 mg/dL, and high TG ≥ 150 mg/dL (Fatema et al., 2016). More than 17 million people die annually from CVDs. It is also estimated that by 2030, over 23 million people will die from CVDs each year (Mackay et al., 2004). The consumption of lipid-lowering medications may bring about some adverse effects (Hosseini and Hosseinzadeh, 2015). There is evidence that avocado and some of its pharmacologically active constituents possess lipid-lowering and antihyperlipidemic effects (Table 3). Table 2. (Continued) Part(s) of the plant used/ Extract(s) Active constituents Dosage (mg/kg/day)/ Route/ duration of treatment Experimental model Outcome Reference In vitro studies Leaves, peel, flesh, and seeds/Aqueous Bioactive phenolics 0–0.164, 0–0.4, 0–0.313 (mg/mL)/Not mentioned Rat’s pancreas tissue homogenates Inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase (Ajani and Olanrewaju, 2014) ↓MDA Leaves/Aqueous and methanolic MUFAs Not mentioned/Not mentioned Gas chromatography Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase (Uysal et al., 2015) Leaves/Aqueous Tannins and terpenoid glycosides 0.01–300(μg/mL)/Not mentioned PTP1B human recombinant 96 microplates Inhibition of PTP1B (Marrero-Faz et al., 2014) Abbreviations. MUFAs, monounsaturated fatty acids; p.o., oral route; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; FBG, fasting blood glucose; GLP-1, glucagon-like peptide-1; SID, streptozotocin-induced diabetic; Akt/PKB, Akt/Protein Kinase B; Hb, hemoglobin; BGLs, blood glucose levels; AST, aspartate transaminase; ALT, alanine transaminase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; GSH/GSSG, reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione; ROS, reactive oxygen species; TG, triglyceride; G6PD, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; PUFAs, polyunsaturated fatty acids; AID, alloxan-induced diabetic; HCD, high-cholesterol diet; TC, total cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MDA, malondialdehyde; PTP1B, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B. J. TABESHPOUR ET AL.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Ta bl e 3. H yp ol ip id em ic ef fe ct s of av oc ad o P ar t( s) of th e pl an t us ed / Ex tr ac t( s) A ct iv e co ns ti tu en ts D os ag e (m g/ kg /d ay )/ R ou te / du ra ti on of tr ea tm en t Ex pe ri m en ta lm od el O ut co m e R ef er en ce C lin ic al tr ia ls P ul p/ N ot m en ti on ed M U FA s 0 .5 to 1 .5 av oc ad os /p .o . /3 w ee ks H um an s H D L- C (n o ch an ge ) (C ol qu ho un et al ., 1 9 9 2 ) A po -A 1 (n o ch an ge ) ↓T C ↓L D L- C ↓A po B H as s/ N ot m en ti on ed M U FA s 1 3 6 g/ p. o. /5 w ee ks O be se or ov er w ei gh t hu m an s ↓L D L pa rt ic le nu m be r (W an g et al ., 2 0 1 5 ) ↓s m al ld en se LD L- C ↓r at io of LD L/ H D L A vo ca do /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et M U FA s 7 5 % av oc ad o- de ri ve d M U FA s/ p. o. /4 w ee ks D ys lip id em ic pa ti en ts ↑H D L- C (C ar ra nz a et al ., 1 9 9 5 ) ↓T G , T C , an d LD L- C A vo ca do /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et M U FA s 7 5 % av oc ad o- de ri ve d M U FA s/ p. o. /2 w ee ks H ea lt hy vo lu nt ee rs ↑H D L- C (A lv iz ou ri -M uñ oz et al ., 1 9 9 2 ) ↓T G , T C , an d LD L- C A vo ca do /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et M U FA s 2 0 0 0 K ca l( lip id s 5 3 % , M U FA s 4 9 g, sa tu ra te d/ un sa tu ra te d ra ti o = 0 .5 4 )/ p. o. /o ne w ee k H ea lt hy no rm ol ip id em ic vo lu nt ee rs an d H C h pa ti en ts ↓T G (L óp ez Le de sm a et al ., 1 9 9 6 ) ↓T C ↓L D L- C A vo ca do /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et M U FA s 7 5 % av oc ad o- de ri ve d M U FA s/ p. o. /4 w ee ks D ys lip id em ic pa ti en ts ↓T G (C ar ra nz a- M ad ri ga le t al ., 1 9 9 7 ) ↓L D L- C Fr ui ts /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et Fa tt y ac id s 0 .5 to 1 .5 av oc ad os /p .o . /8 w ee ks M al e pa ti en ts ↓T C (G ra nt , 1 9 6 0 ) ↓S er um P Ls A vo ca do /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et N ot m en ti on ed 1 av oc ad o (2 0 0 g) /p .o ./ 6 w ee ks O ve rw ei gh t an d ob es e vo lu nt ee rs ↓B od y w ei gh t (P ie te rs e, 2 0 0 3 ) ↓B M I ↓P er ce nt ag e bo dy fa t A vo ca do an d av oc ad o oi l/ A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et C ar ot en oi ds 7 5 an d 1 5 0 g av oc ad os or 2 4 g av oc ad o oi l/p .o ./ 8 w ee ks H ea lt hy vo lu nt ee rs ↑A bs or pt io n of ly co pe ne , β- ca ro te ne α- ca ro te ne , an d lu te in (U nl u et al ., 2 0 0 5 ) A ni m al st ud ie s A vo ca do pa st e/ N ot m en ti on ed C ar ot en oi ds , po ly ph en ol s, ch lo ro ph yl ls , an d fi be r 2 0 0 0 /p .o ./ 7 w ee ks H C D an d hi gh -f ru ct os e di et ra ts ↓T G , T C an d LD L- C (P ah ua -R am os et al ., 2 0 1 4 ) ↓A S T ↓A LT S ee ds /E th an ol ic N ot m en ti on ed 4 5 0 an d 9 0 0 /p .o ./ 2 w ee ks A ID ra ts ↑H D L- C (E de m , 2 0 1 0 ) ↓T G , T C , an d LD L- C S ee d oi l/O rg an ic so lv en t N ot m en ti on ed 1 0 % (w /w )/ p. o. /4 w ee ks Fe m al e ra ts ↓T ot al liv er lip og en es is (W er m an et al ., 1 9 9 1 ) ↓P Ls an d T G sy nt he si s ↓P ro te in co nt en t of V LD L an d H D L- C fr ac ti on s O il/ A vo ca do oi l-e nh an ce d di et P U FA s, ph yt os te ro ls , an d ca ro te no id s N ot m en ti on ed /p .o ./ 3 m on th s A th er og en ic -d ie t- fe d ra bb it s ↑H D L- C (K ri tc he vs ky et al ., 2 0 0 3 ) ↓T C O il/ A vo ca do oi l-e nh an ce d di et H C D m ic e ↑H D L- C (O rt iz M or en o et al ., 2 0 0 7 ) (C on ti nu es ) AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) T ab le 3. (C on ti nu ed ) P ar t( s) of th e pl an t us ed / Ex tr ac t( s) A ct iv e co ns ti tu en ts D os ag e (m g/ kg /d ay )/ R ou te / du ra ti on of tr ea tm en t Ex pe ri m en ta lm od el O ut co m e R ef er en ce M U FA s, ca ro te no id s, an d ph yt os te ro ls 2 .5 % or 5 % (g /1 0 0 g) /p .o ./ 4 w ee ks ↓T G ↓A I Fr ui ts an d se ed s/ M et ha no lic P he no lic s, fl av on oi ds , an d so lu bl e di et ar y fi be r 1 0 % ,2 0 % ,3 0 % /p .o ./ 6 w ee ks H C D ra ts ↑A I (S he ha ta an d S ol ta n, 2 0 1 3 ) ↑G S H ↓T C , T G , an d LD L- C ↓A S T an d A LT S ee ds /m et ha no lic an d pe tr ol eu m et he r S ap on in s, fl av on oi ds , an d ph en ol s 1 2 5 , 2 5 0 , an d 5 0 0 /p .o . /4 w ee ks H FD ra ts ↓T C , LD L- C , an d T G (M fo no bo ng et al ., 2 0 1 3 ) ↓T ot al lip id s an d P Ls ↓A I P ul p/ H yd ro al co ho lic To co ph er ol s, ph yt os te ro ls , an d po ly ph en ol s 1 3 0 an d 1 5 0 /S to m ac h tu be / 8 w ee ks H C D ra ts ↑H D L- C (E lb ad ra w y an d S he lb ay a, 2 0 1 3 ) ↓A LT an d A S T ↓U re a, cr ea ti ni ne , ur ic ac id , an d bi lir ub in ↓S er um ch ol es te ro l, T G , LD L- C , an d V LD L- C P ul p/ N ot m en ti on ed P hy to st er ol s, M U FA s, ca ro te no id s, an d vi ta m in s 1 an d 2 (m L/ ra t/ da y) /p .o ./ 1 0 w ee ks H C D ra ts ↓S er um ch ol es te ro l, LD L- C , V LD L- C , an d T G (A l-D os ar i, 2 0 11 ) ↓G P T, G O T, G G T, an d A LP ↓B ili ru bi n le ve ls ↓L iv er an d he ar t M D A S ee d fl ou r/ M et ha no lic P he no lic s an d fi be r 1 2 5 , 2 5 0 , an d 5 0 0 /G av ag e/ 2 w ee ks H C D m ic e ↓T C an d LD L- C (P ah ua -R am os et al ., 2 0 1 2 ) ↓A I Fr ui t an d le av es / D ic hl or om et ha ni c an d m et ha no lic N ot m en ti on ed 3 0 0 /p .o ./ N ot m en ti on ed T yl ox ap ol -in du ce d hy pe rl ip id em ic ra ts ↓S er um ch ol es te ro l (M ah ad ev a R ao an d A di ne w , 2 0 11 ) ↓T G S ee ds /E th an ol ic S ap on in s, fl av on oi ds , an d ta nn in s 1 0 ,2 0 , an d 4 0 /p .o ./ 2 w ee ks H yp er lip id em ic ra ts ↓T C , T G , an d LD L- C (F id ri an ny et al ., 2 0 1 6 ) Fr ui ts /H ex an e ex tr ac t, ly op hi liz ed , an d po w de re d av oc ad o, di ff er en t fr ac ti on s Fa tt y ac id s (A vo ca do in di et = 1 – 5 % ), (F ra ct io ns = 4 .4 % ; 0 .5 3 % ; 0 .2 1 % ; 0 .9 8 % ; an d 1 .8 % )/ p. o. / 2 w ee ks D -g al ac to sa m in e- in du ce d liv er da m ag e ra ts ↓A LT an d A S T (K aw ag is hi et al ., 2 0 0 1 ) Le av es /M et ha no lic Fl av on oi ds (lu te ol in , ru ti n, qu er ce ti n, ap ig en in ) 2 0 an d 4 0 /p .o ./ 8 w ee ks H C D ra ts ↑H D L- C (K ol aw ol e et al ., 2 0 1 2 ) ↓T C , T G , an d LD L- C P ul p/ Et ha no lic S ap on in s, fl av on oi ds , an d ph yt os te ro ls 3 0 0 /p .o ./ 4 w ee ks N ep hr op at hy -in du ce d H C D ra ts ↑S O D an d C A T (M ah ad ev a R ao et al ., 2 0 1 4 ) ↑G P x, G S T, G R , an d G S H ↓T C an d T G ↓S er um ur ea , cr ea ti ni ne , an d ur ic ac id ↓T B A R S an d hy dr op er ox id e U p- re gu la te d eN O S ge ne s (C on ti nu es ) J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) T ab le 3. (C on ti nu ed ) P ar t( s) of th e pl an t us ed / Ex tr ac t( s) A ct iv e co ns ti tu en ts D os ag e (m g/ kg /d ay )/ R ou te / du ra ti on of tr ea tm en t Ex pe ri m en ta lm od el O ut co m e R ef er en ce D ow n- re gu la te d iN O S ge ne s S ee ds /A qu eo us P hy to st er ol s 1 0 0 an d 2 0 0 /p .o ./ 8 w ee ks R ab bi ts ↓T C , T G , LD L- C , an d to ta ll ip id (N w ao gu ik pe an d B ra id e, 2 0 11 ) Fr ui ts /A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et P he no lic s an d fl av on oi ds 5 ,1 0 , an d 1 5 % of dr ie d av oc ad o/ p. o. /8 w ee ks C C L 4 -in du ce d liv er da m ag e ra ts ↑S O D , G Px, an d C A T (M ah m oe d an d R ez q, 2 0 1 3 ) P ul p/ A vo ca do -e nr ic he d di et Fi be r 2 3 0 g av oc ad os /p .o ./ 4 w ee ks H C D ra ts ↑C ec um w ei gh t (N av eh et al ., 2 0 0 2 ) ↓F oo d co ns um pt io n ↓B od y w ei gh t ga in ↓H ep at ic to ta lf at Fr ui ts /H yd ro al co ho lic M U FA s an d vi ta m in s 2 5 ,5 0 ,1 0 0 , an d 2 0 0 /p .o ./ 1 4 w ee ks O be si ty -in du ce d H FD ra ts ↑L P L (M on ik a an d G ee th a, 2 0 1 6 ) ↓B lo od an d liv er lip id s ↓L P O ↓F A S N ↓H M G C oA re du ct as e Fr ui ts /H yd ro al co ho lic β- si to st er ol , lu te in ,v it am in s A , C , an d E 1 0 0 /p .o ./ 1 4 w ee ks H FD ra ts ↑G S H (P ad m an ab ha n an d A ru m ug am , 2 0 1 4 ) ↑A di po ne ct in an d m R N A ex pr es si on of ad ip on ec ti n ↑P PA R -γ an d pr ot ei n ex pr es si on of P PA R -γ ↓B M I, T FP , an d A D I Le av es /A qu eo us an d m et ha no lic M U FA s 1 0 /p .o ./ 8 w ee ks H FD ra ts ↓B od y w ei gh t ga in (B ra ie t al ., 2 0 0 7 a, b) ↓L iv er w ei gh t Fr ui ts /h yd ro al co ho lic Fl av on oi ds , ph en ol ic s, an d ph yt os te ro ls 1 0 0 /p .o ./ 1 4 w ee ks H FD m al e ra ts ↑G en e ex pr es si on of FG F2 1 (M on ik a an d G ee th a, 2 0 1 5 ) ↓B M I, T FP , an d A D I ↓B lo od ch ol es te ro l, T G , an d LD L- C ↓L ep ti n ↓m R N A ex pr es si on of FA S N , LP L, an d le pt in Le af /A qu eo us an d m et ha no lic Fl av on oi ds 1 0 /p .o ./ 8 w ee ks H FD ra ts ↑C A T, S O D , an d G S H (B ra ie t al ., 2 0 1 2 ) ↓P ro te in ca rb on yl ↓P la sm a M D A In vi tr o st ud ie s Le av es an d fr ui t/ P he no lic P he no lic s 0 – 1 7 5 (μ g/ m L) /N ot m en ti on ed R at ’s pa nc re as m od el ↓M D A (O bo h, 2 0 1 4 ) A bb re vi at io ns . M U FA s, m on ou ns at ur at ed fa tt y ac id s; p. o. , or al ro ut e; H D L- C , hi gh -d en si ty lip op ro te in ch ol es te ro l; A po -A 1 , ap ol ip op ro te in A 1 ; T C , to ta l ch ol es te ro l; LD L- C , lo w -d en si ty lip op ro te in ch ol es te ro l; A po B , ap ol ip op ro te in B ; T G , tr ig ly ce ri de ; H C D , hi gh -c ho le st er ol di et ; P Ls , ph os ph ol ip id s; B M I, bo dy m as s in de x; A S T, as pa rt at e tr an sa m in as e; A LT , al an in e tr an sa m in as e; A ID , al lo xa n- in du ce d di ab et ic ; V LD L, ve ry -lo w -d en si ty lip op ro te in ; P U FA s, po ly un sa tu ra te d fa tt y ac id s; A I, at he ro ge ni c in de x; H FD , hi gh -f at di et ; G P T, gl ut am ic py ru vi c tr an sa m in as e; G O T, gl ut am ic ox al oa ce ti c tr an sa m in as e; G G T, γ- gl ut am yl tr an sp ep ti da se ; A LP , al ka lin e ph os ph at as e; M D A , m al on di al de hy de ; S O D , su pe ro xi de di sm ut as e; C A T, ca ta la se ; G P x, gl ut at hi on e pe ro xi da se ; G S T, gl ut at hi on e s- tr an sf er as e; G R , gl ut at hi on e re du ct as e; T B A R S , th io ba rb it ur ic ac id re ac ti ve su bs ta nc es ; eN O S , en do th el ia l ni tr ic ox id e sy nt ha se ; iN O S , in du ci bl e ni tr ic ox id e sy nt ha se ; C C L 4 , ca rb on te tr ac hl or id e; LP L, lip op ro te in lip as e ac ti vi ty ; LP O , lip id pe ro xi de s; FA S N , fa tt y ac id sy nt ha se ; P PA R -γ , pe ro xi so m e pr ol if er at or -a ct iv at ed re ce pt or -γ ; FG F2 1 , fi br ob la st gr ow th fa ct or -2 1 ; T FP , to ta l fa t pa d m as s; A D I, ad ip os it y in de x. AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Clinical studies A randomized trial to evaluate the hypolipidemic effects of avocado (between half and one and a half avocados per day) was accomplished on 15 women lasting for 3 weeks. A decrease in TC, LDL-C, and apolipoprotein B together with preservation of HDL-C and apolipoprotein A-I was observed (Colquhoun et al., 1992). Also, in a crossover design, eight phenotype IV and eight phenotype II dyslipidemic patients were examined for evaluation of the effect of avocado on blood lipids. Patients received a rich-monounsaturated fatty acids diet using the avocado as their major source for 4 weeks in which 30% of the total calories were consumed as fat and 75% of the total fat from avocado. The results showed that the diet significantly decreased TC and LDL-C levels in phenotype II. On phenotype IV, the diet produced a mild decrease in TG levels while HDL-C significantly increased on both phenotypes (Carranza et al., 1995). Sixteen healthy volunteers were evaluated for the effect of avocado on serum lipid levels. The volunteers received a rich-monounsaturated fatty acids diet using the avocado as their major source for 2 weeks in which 30% of the total calories were consumed as fat and 75% of the total fat from avocado. The results revealed that the diet lessened the serum levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C while the level of HDL- C increased. So, avocado can be used as an alternative to treat hyperlipidemia (Alvizouri-Muñoz et al., 1992). Thirty healthy normolipidemic volunteers and 37 mild HCh patients received an avocado-enriched diet (2000 Kcal, lipids 53% MFA 49 g saturated/unsaturated ratio 0.54) for 1 week. Both subjects revealed a significant decrease in serum TC, LDL-C, and TG, and increase in HDL-C levels with avocado diet. So avocado is recommended for the treatment of HCh and hypertriglyceridemic patients (López Ledesma et al., 1996). A prospective, transversal, and comparative study was accomplished on 13 patients with phenotype II dyslipidemia for 4 weeks. Their diet composed of 60% carbohydrates, 10% proteins, and 30% lipids, 75% of which was supplied by avocado. TG and LDL-C decreased significantly. They concluded that avocado addition to a vegetarian diet does not correct hypercholesterolemia unless lower amounts of carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fatty acids are used (Carranza-Madrigal et al., 1997). The effect of avocado on serum cholesterol was investigated on 16 male patients who consumed 0.5–1.5 avocados per day for 8 weeks. Total cholesterol (ester form free form) and serum phospholipids (PLs) significantly declined at the endpoint (Grant, 1960). Furthermore, in a clinical study it was shown that addition of avocado or avocado oil to the vegetable-based diets of healthy volunteers enhanced the absorption of lycopene, β-carotene, α-carotene, and lutein. It is concluded that adding avocado fruit to carotenoid-containing foods can facilitate carotenoid absorption (Unlu et al., 2005), and consequently aids to its lipid-lowering activity. In a randomized, controlled, parallel study, 61 free-living and energy-restricted-diets volunteers were administered with 200 g/day of avocado (for 6 weeks) which substituted for 30 g of other mixed dietary fats such as margarine or oil, to investigate the possible effects on weight loss, serum lipids, fibrinogen, and vascular function. Although the results showed a significant increase in the percentage of plasma oleic acid and a decrease in the percentage of myristic acid, body mass, body mass index (BMI), and the percentage of body fat, but TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C levels, fibrinogen, BP, and arterial compliance were not changed significantly in the experimental group. This study concluded that intake of 200 g/day of avocado within an energy-restricted diet does not cause weight loss when substituted for 30 g of mixed dietary fat (Pieterse et al., 2005). In vivo studies The effect of reduced-calorie avocado paste (2 g/kg/day, for 7 weeks) has been studied on HCD and high- fructose diet rats. It showed a significant reduction in TC, LDL-C, TG, AST, and ALT, and increased insulin sensitivity (Pahua-Ramos et al., 2014). The results of a study on AID rats suggested that ethanolic extracts of P. americana seedpossess antihyperlipidemic effect at the doses of 450 and 900 mg/kg via a significant decrease in the serum concentrations of TC, TG, and LDL-C, in addition to a significant increase in the serum level of HDL-C. The possible mechanism of this effect was mentioned to be controlling of the hydrolysis of certain lipoproteins and their selective uptake and metabolism by different tissues (Edem, 2010). Avocado-seed oil (10% w/w, orally for 4 weeks) showed a significant reduction in total liver lipogenesis, PL, and TG synthesis, and protein content of plasma very- low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and HDL-C fractions in female rats. The possible mechanism for the alternations in hepatic lipogenesis could be related to the marked proliferation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum which is known to be associated with induction of enzymes involved in lipid biosynthesis (Werman et al., 1991). The hypolipidemic and antiatherogenic effects of avocado oil were investigated in atherogenic-diet-fed rabbits. In this study, corn oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil were compared for these effects. The results showed that the avocado oil, corn oil, and olive oil had the same effects. But, the atheroma observed in the rabbits fed avocado oil was somewhat less severe than other oils (Kritchevsky et al., 2003). The hypolipidemic and antiatherogenic effects of avocado oil were evaluated on hypercholesterolemic-diet mice (2.5 or 5% g/100 g, for 4 weeks) and an increase in the HDL-C and maintenance in the concentration of the TG, in spite of the high caloric supply, was observed (Ortiz Moreno et al., 2007). The lowering effect of avocado seed on lipid profiles in serum and liver was investigated in high-fat diet (HFD) rats for 6 weeks. The results showed that both the fruit and the seed, especially the latter, significantly decreased the serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, AST, and ALT activities, while the atherogenic index (=Serum TC � HDL-C/HDL-C) increased. Furthermore, in the liver, the contents of TC and TG decreased, and GSH increased. Consequently, consuming avocado seed is recommended because it has strong antioxidant activity and improved lipid profile (Shehata and Soltan, 2013). Petroleum ether extracts of P. americana seeds were examined on HFD rats. The extracts (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day, orally J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) for 4 weeks) significantly reduced the raised levels of TC, LDL-C, TG, total lipids, total PLs, and the AI, while increased HDL-C (Mfonobong et al., 2013). The results of a study on hydroalcoholic extract of avocado (130 and 150 mg/kg, via stomach tube for 8 weeks) on HCD rats showed a significant reduction in serum ALT, AST, urea, creatinine, uric acid, and bilirubin levels. Also, significant decreases in serum cholesterol, TG, LDL-C, and VLDL-C were noted, while, the serum level of HDL-C enhanced (Elbadrawy and Shelbaya, 2013). P. americana pulp (1 and 2 mL/rat/day, orally for 10 weeks) showed a significant decrease in serum cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C, TG, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, γ- glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin levels, liver, and heart MDA. There was also a significant increase in non-protein sulfhydryl and TP contents in both tissues. These results suggested that avocado showed hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant properties because of its phytoconstituents contents (Al-Dosari, 2011). Avocado seed flour (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day, by gavage, for 2 weeks) was administered to HCD mice. The results showed a significant reduction in the levels of TC, LDL-C, and AI, suggesting the antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic activity of this plant (Pahua-Ramos et al., 2012). The cholesterol-lowering activity of leaf (dichloromethanic and methanolic extracts) and fruit (dichloromethanic and methanolic extracts) of P. americana in tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidemic rats were investigated [tyloxapol is used in Intraperitoneal route injections to block plasma lipolytic activity, and thus the breakdown of TG-rich lipoproteins]. The results showed that the extracts (300 mg/kg, orally and immediately after tyloxapol injection) could lower cholesterol and TG levels in hyperlipidemic rats (Mahadeva Rao and Adinew, 2011). The ethanolic seed extract of P. americana (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg/day, orally for 2 weeks) was administered to hyperlipidemic male Wistar rats. The results showed that the extract at the dose of 10 mg/kg reduced TC and LDL-C and at the dose of 20 and 40 mg/kg reduced TG levels in serum. This study showed that avocado can be served as a potential medicinal plant to lower serum lipid levels and subsequently the risk of CVDs (Fidrianny et al., 2016). A rat model of D-galactosamine-induced liver damage was conducted to assess the protective effects of 22 fruits against liver injury (four experiments with lyophilized and powdered avocado, its different fractions and hexane extract) for 2 weeks. Among different fruits, avocado showed extraordinarily potent liver injury suppressing effect, dose dependently (Kawagishi et al., 2001). The leaf extract of P. americana (20 and 40 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks) was administered to HCD rats. The results indicated that this extract, in a dose-dependent manner, significantly reduced the plasma levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C and increased HDL-C levels. The extracts also caused significant reduction of plasma lipid peroxidation. In this study, the antihyperlipidemic effect of avocado was comparable with that of cholestyramine (Kolawole et al., 2012). The effects of avocado pulp (300 mg/kg/day, orally for 4 weeks) on biochemical, histological, and gene expression were investigated in hypercholesterolemic-diet-fed nephropathy induced albino rats. Via administration of the extract, the levels of TC, TG, PLs, renal markers (serum urea, creatinine, and uric acid), and renal lipid peroxidation products such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and hydroperoxide noticeably decreased. Also, free radical scavenging activity factors such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione s-transferase, and glutathione reductase (GR) enzymes were significantly increased. The mRNA levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and inducible nitric oxide synthase genes were meaningfully up- regulated and down-regulated, respectively. This study demonstrated that avocado could be used as a nephroprotective agent via reducing the serum lipid profile, renal oxidative stress, and regulating the mRNA expression of NOS in renal artery (Mahadeva Rao et al., 2014). The aqueous seed extract of P. americana, at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg/day for 2 months, was administered to rabbits. The extract significantly and dose- dependently showed reduction in TC, TG, LDL-C, and the total lipid levels in the serum. Accordingly, the seed of this plant could be a promising remedy for the management of atherosclerosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and other abnormalities of lipid metabolism in humans (Nwaoguikpe and Braide, 2011). To assess the hepatoprotective effect of avocado fruit, a rat model experimental study was accomplished in carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage rats which received diets consist of 5, 10, and 15% dried avocado fruits for 4 weeks. The results showed that avocado decreased serum concentrations of AST, ALT, ALP, TP, total and direct bilirubin, and MDA while significantly increased the activity of SOD, GPx, and CAT enzymes. Accordingly, avocado fruit improved liver functions and showed antioxidant activity (Mahmoed and Rezq, 2013). Avocado also revealed its lipid-lowering effect via influencing on endogenous fat synthesis and adiponectin formation through the transcription factor fibroblast growth factor-21 (Monika and Geetha, 2015). The leaf aqueous and methanolic extracts of P. americana (10 mg/kg, for 8 weeks) were administered to HCh rats. A significant reduction in proteincarbonyl and plasma MDA showed that the extract lowered the oxidative stress. Besides, an increase in the activities of CAT and SOD as well as reduced GSH was observed. The aforementioned effects demonstrated that the extract could be used in the management of diseases associated with hyperlipidemia (Brai et al., 2012). Conversely, in a study, the effect of dietary consumption of avocado oil was conducted on sucrose- fed rats. No changes in biochemical markers including glucose, TC, TG, total protein, albumin, globulin, direct bilirubin, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, ALP, cholinesterase, and α-amylase were found while body weight gain was observed in the rats (Carvajal-Zarrabal et al., 2014b). In vitro studies The inhibitory effect of the phenolic extract of the leaves, seed, and fruit of P. americana (0–175 μg/mL) on Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation in rat’s pancreas was examined in vitro. The results showed a significant decrease in the MDA level in a dose-dependent AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) manner. The seed extract have the highest inhibitory effect. The possible mechanism is probably via the ability of the extracts on chelating Fe2+ and scavenging free radicals (Oboh, 2014). Aforementioned experimental studies showed that avocado had promising effects on abnormal lipid profile via different mechanisms including increase in free radical scavenging activity factors such as SOD, CAT, GPx, glutathione s-transferase, and GR enzymes; improving serum lipid biomarkers such as TC, TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C; regulating the hydrolysis of different lipoproteins and their selective uptake and metabolism by different tissues; decrease in liver lipogenesis and oxidative stress. EFFECT ON OBESITY Obesity which is associated with dyslipidemia, is a critical global issue described by additional fat content in adipose tissue as a result of unhealthy dietary habits causing negative energy balance (Monika and Geetha, 2016; Colquhoun et al., 1992). According to the McKinsey Global Institute report, more than 2.1 billion people (nearly 30% of the world population) are overweight or obese. It is estimated that by 2030 it will rise to 41% (Carranza et al., 1995). Several methods are available to prevent obesity such as working out, applying medication, and modifying the regimen along with avocado which has shown promising anti-obesity effect in different studies. Clinical studies In a randomized, crossover, controlled feeding trial, performed on 45 overweight or obese participants, the hypolipidemic effect and also the effect of avocado consumption (136 g of Hass avocado per day) on CVD risk factors were investigated. The results indicated that avocado significantly decreased LDL particle number, small dense LDL-C, and the ratio of LDL/HDL from baseline, and showed beneficial effects on cardio- metabolic risk factors (Carranza et al., 1995). A controlled parallel intervention study was accomplished on overweight and obese volunteers with BMI of 27–44 kg/m2, to evaluate the effect of avocado (one avocado/day for 6 weeks) on weight loss and serum lipids. Significant reductions in body weight, BMI, and percentage of body fat were observed (Unlu et al., 2005). In vivo studies The effect of avocado pulp (230 g avocado) on body weight was investigated in HCD rats for 4 weeks. The results showed that food consumption, body weight gain, and hepatic total fat levels were lower while the cecum weight was higher in avocado-fed rats. In this study, it was concluded that an appetite depressant is present in avocado and that avocado pulp interferes with hepatic fat metabolism (Monika and Geetha, 2015). The hypolipidemic and body weight-lowering effects of hydroalcoholic fruit extract of P. americana (25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) on obesity-induced HFD rats were investigated for 14 weeks. The experiment showed a significant decrease in blood and liver lipids, LPO, the activity of lipid metabolic key enzymes such as fatty acid synthase (FASN) and HMG CoA reductase in liver, while the antioxidant status and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity increased. The possible mechanism was probably via modulating the activities of FASN and HMG CoA reductase in the liver (Monika and Geetha, 2016). For us to examine the hypolipidemic and anti-obesity effects of hydroalcoholic fruit extract of P. americana, HFD rats were administered with the dose of 100 mg/kg/day of the extract orally for 14 weeks. The results revealed a significant decrease in BMI, total fat pad mass (TFP), and adiposity index (ADI). Although, an increase was observed in the levels of GSH, adiponectin, mRNA expression of adiponectin, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), and protein expression of PPAR-γ. Finally, it is concluded that avocado possesses hypolipidemic and anti-obesity activity probably via increasing the mRNA expression of adiponectin and PPAR-γ, which can reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia and obesity (Padmanabhan and Arumugam, 2014). The effect of aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of P. americana (10 mg/kg/day) on body weight and liver lipids in HCD rats were investigated for 8 weeks, resulting in 14% and 25% reduction in the body weight gain, respectively. The methanolic extract also provoked a minimal (8%) reduction in mean liver weight. It could be concluded that the leaf extract of avocado increased catabolism of lipids accumulated in adipose tissue causing a reduction in body weight but did not influence liver lipid levels in rats (Brai et al., 2012). High-fat diet rats were treated with 100 mg/kg of hydroalcoholic fruit extract of avocado for 16 weeks. There was a significant reduction in BMI, ADI, TFP, blood cholesterol, TG, LDL-C, and leptin as well as the mRNA expression of FASN, LPL, and leptin in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue while the gene expression of fibroblast growth factor-21 significantly increased. The current study concluded that the anti-obesity effect of avocado was due to its significant effect on leptin activity which is responsible for satiety and hunger to control the food intake (Monika and Geetha, 2015). Several studies have demonstrated the anti-obesity effect of avocado via different proposed mechanisms such as increase in the mRNA expression of adiponectin and PPAR-γ; increase in catabolism of lipids accumulated in adipose tissue; reduction in BMI, body weight, ADI, TFP, blood cholesterol, TG, LDL-C, and leptin as well as the mRNA expression of FASN, LPL, and leptin in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue; and diminution of oxidative stress. EFFECT ON HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE Hypertension is estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths, about 12.8% of the total of all deaths, worldwide, and is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic, and premature deaths. Furthermore, hypertension accompanies with some complications including heart failure, peripheral J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) vascular disease, retinal hemorrhage, and renal and visual impairments (Papathanasiou et al., 2015). This pervasive disease is defined as an average systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or an average diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm (CDC, 2012). Although the antihypertensive drugs such as thiazides, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers reduce the risk of mortality, stroke, coronary heart disease, and/or CVDs, but adverse events and the complexity of such agents tend to decrease treatment adherence. Therefore, complementary and herbal medicines are gaining increasing popularity among patients with the risk of CVDs, and there is a need to explore the medicinal plants having very low adverse effects for the treatment of hypertension (Xiong et al., 2015). There are several clinical and experimental studies which confirm the use of avocado as a remedy for hypertension (Table 4). Clinicalstudies For us to assess the effect of liquid extract of avocado leaf on the plasma levels of LDL-C, TC, ALT, and AST, 50 newly-diagnosed hypertensive patients with an abnormal increase in plasma cholesterol and BP were treated with 60 mL/day of the extract. The results revealed a significant reduction in the plasma levels of LDL-C and TC, and increase in ALT and AST in the subjects. It can be concluded that although this extract can induce hepatotoxicity, but also it can be used in the treatment of hypertension (Olaniyan, 2014). In vivo studies For is to investigate the hypotensive effect of aqueous seed extract of P. americana, normotensive rats were treated with 240, 260, 280 mg/kg/day of the extract. Treatment of the rats for 10 days showed a significant decrease in mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate (HR) which were comparable with those of acetylcholine (Anaka et al., 2009). Hypertensive rats were treated with 200, 500, and 700 mg/kg of the aqueous seed extract of P. americana for 4 weeks to evaluate the effect of this plant on BP and lipid profile. The extract at the dose of 500 mg/kg showed a significant reduction in BP as well as TC, LDL-C, TG levels in the plasma, kidney, liver, and heart. It can be concluded that treatment with the dose of 500 mg/kg of the seed extract of this plant not only lowers the BP but also may produce a favorable lipid profile (Imafidon and Amaechina, 2010). Methanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of P. americana were administered to normotensive rats (6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg, for 2 weeks). The intravenous route injection of the extracts showed a significant reduction in mean arterial blood pressure (Adeboye et al., 1999). The antihypertensive effect of the aqueous extract obtained from the mixture of fresh leaf of P. americana, stems, and fresh leaf of Cymbopogon citratus, fruits of Citrus medica and honey (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg/day for 5 weeks) on ethanol-and sucrose-induced hypertension in rats were evaluated. The extract caused reduction in BP, HR, MDA, the levels of TC, LDL-C, TG, AI, glucose, proteins, AST, ALT, creatinin, potassium, sodium, and albumin, while the levels of HDL-C, GSH, nitrites, and the activities of SOD and CAT increased. It can be concluded that the extract showed antihypertensive activity (Dzeufiet et al., 2014). The BP response to angiotensin II and the fatty acid composition of cardiac and renal membranes were evaluated with avocado oil-enhanced diet (10% w/w for 2 weeks) in rats. Avocado oil increased the oleic acid content of the cardiac membrane while it decreased the α-linolenic acid and increased the arachidonic acid content of the kidney membrane. The results showed that this diet was able to modify the fatty acid content in the mentioned membranes in a tissue-specific manner. The rise in renal arachidonic acid suggested that diet content could be an important factor in vascular responses, and the desired effects for the cardiovascular system could not be ascribed to the components of the oil and proposed that other active constituents present in avocado fruit and leaves might be involved (Salazar et al., 2005). The aqueous seed extract of P. americana (200, 500, and 700 mg/kg/day, for 4 weeks) were used to assess its antihypertensive and antihepatotoxic effect. The results showed that the extract significantly lowered the weight gain, BP, and ALP activity at all dose levels. The levels of protein, albumin, ALT, and AST showed no significant change. Conclusively, avocado seeds could be used as an antihypertensive agent and also showed antihepatotoxic activity (Imafidon, 2010). The aqueous extract of the leaves and seeds of P. americana (2 mL) was investigated on the enzyme activities of blood and liver of the rats. The results showed a significant decrease and increase in the activities of ALP, ALT, AST, and acid phosphatase in the liver and plasma of the rats, respectively; which indicated a probable damage to the hepatic cells and might be as a result of prolonged usage (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days) of the extract. The cholesterol levels also decreased which indicated the hypocholesterolimic effect of avocado and it might be helpful in the management of hypertension and reducing the risk of CVDs (Oyeyemi and Oyeyemi, 2015). In vitro studies The antioxidant activity of ripe and unripe avocado was investigated via analysis of the minerals content using l, l-diphenyl, 2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. The results showed that the content of sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and manganese was higher in ripe avocado seeds, while the content of potassium and zinc were higher in unripe avocado seeds. It could be perceived that firstly, the seeds from both ripe and unripe avocado contained significant antioxidant activities; secondly, the seeds from unripe avocado, being rich in potassium compared to sodium, could be used in the management of hypertension (Alagbaoso et al., 2015). The aqueous extract of leaves and seeds of avocado (50 μL) were used to investigate for their possible inhibitory effect on angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (A1CE) activity in vitro. The results showed that the leaf extract have significantly higher total phenol, flavonoid content, and antioxidant properties than the seed extract, while, the seed extract have higher inhibitory effect on A1CE AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Ta bl e 4. H yp ot en si ve ef fe ct s of av oc ad o C lin ic al tr ia ls Le av es /L iq ui d A lk al oi ds 6 0 (m L/ da y) /p .o ./ N ot m en ti on ed N ew ly di ag no se d hy pe rt en si ve pa ti en ts ↑A LT an d A S T (O la ni ya n, 2 0 1 4 ) ↓T C an d LD L- C A ni m al st ud ie s S ee d/ A qu eo us Ta nn in s 2 4 0 ,2 6 0 , an d 2 8 0 /i. v. /1 0 da ys N or m ot en si ve ra ts ↓M A B P (A na ka et al ., 2 0 0 9 ) ↓H R S ee d/ A qu eo us P ot as si um M U FA s, ca ro te no id s, an d β- si to st er ol 2 0 0 ,5 0 0 , an d 7 0 0 /i. v. /4 w ee ks H yp er te ns iv e ra ts ↓B P (I m af id on an d A m ae ch in a, 2 0 1 0 ) ↓T C , T G , an d LD L- C Le av es /A qu eo us an d m et ha no lic A lk al oi ds , sa po ni ns , fl av on oi ds , an d ta nn in s 6 .2 5 ,1 2 .5 ,2 5 , an d 5 0 /i. v. / 2 w ee ks N or m ot en si ve ra ts ↓M A B P (A de bo ye et al ., 1 9 9 9 ) Le av es /A qu eo us Fl av on oi ds , sa po ni ns , ta nn in s, po ly ph en ol s, an d al ka lo id s 5 0 ,1 0 0 , an d 1 5 0 /p .o ./ 5 w ee ks Et ha no l-a nd su cr os e- in du ce d hy pe rt en si ve ra ts ↑H D L- C (D ze uf ie t et al ., 2 0 1 4 ) ↑G S H , ni tr it es , S O D , an d C A T ↓B P an d H R ↓M D A ↓T C , LD L- C , an d T G ↓A I ↓G lu co se an d pr ot ei ns ↓A S T an d A LT ↓C re at in in , po ta ss iu m , so di um , an d al bu m in O il/ A vo ca do oi l-e nh an ce d di et N ot m en ti on ed 1 0 % (w /w )/ p. o. /2 w ee ks M al e ra ts ↑C ar di ac ol ei c ac id (S al az ar et al ., 2 0 0 5 ) ↑K id ne y ar ac hi do ni c ac id ↓K id ne y α- lin ol en ic ac id S ee ds /A qu eo us N ot m en ti on ed 2 0 0 ,5 0 0 , an d 7 0 0 /p .o ./ 4 w ee ks H yp er te ns iv e an d no rm ot en si ve ra ts ↓W ei gh t ga in (I m af id on , 2 0 1 0 ) ↓B P ↓ A LP Le av es an d se ed s/ A qu eo us N ot m en ti on ed 2 m L/ p. o. /5 da ys R at s P la sm a: ↑A LP , A LT , A S T, an d A C P (O ye ye m ia nd O ye ye m i, 2 0 1 5 ) Li ve r: ↓A LP , A LT , A S T, an d A C P In vi tr o st ud ie s S ee ds /N ot m en ti on ed P ot as si um an d ph en ol ic s N ot m en ti on ed /N ot m en ti on ed D P P H , su pe ro xi de , an d hy dr og en pe ro xi de sc av en gi ng as sa ys ↓B P (A la gb ao so et al ., 2 0 1 5 ) Le av es an d se ed s/ A qu eo us P he no lic s an d fl av on oi d 5 μL /N ot m en ti on ed S pe ct roph ot om et er y In hi bi ti on of A 1 C E (O du ba nj o et al ., 2 0 1 6 ) A 1 C E in hi bi ti on as sa y Le av es /A qu eo us N ot m en ti on ed 0 .0 1 – 1 2 .8 (m g/ m L) /N ot m en ti on ed Is ol at ed ra t ao rt a In hi bi ti on of C a2 + in fl ux th ro ug h ca lc iu m an d re ce pt or -o pe ra te d ch an ne ls (O w ol ab ie t al ., 2 0 0 5 ) A bb re vi at io ns . p. o. , or al ro ut e; A LT , al an in e tr an sa m in as e; A S T, as pa rt at e tr an sa m in as e; T C , to ta lc ho le st er ol ; LD L- C , lo w -d en si ty lip op ro te in ch ol es te ro l; i.v ., in tr av en ou s ro ut e; M A B P, m ea n ar te ri al bl oo d pr es su re ; H R , he ar t ra te ; M U FA s, m on ou ns at ur at ed fa tt y ac id s; B P, bl oo d pr es su re ; T G , tr ig ly ce ri de ; H D L- C , hi gh -d en si ty lip op ro te in ch ol es te ro l; S O D , su pe ro xi de di sm ut as e; C A T, ca ta la se ; M D A , m al on di al de hy de ; A I, at he ro ge ni c in de x; A LP , al ka lin e ph os ph at as e; A C P, ac id ph os ph at as e; D P P H , l; l-d ip he ny l; 2 -p ic ry lh yd ra zy l; A 1 C E, an gi ot en si n 1 co nv er ti ng en zy m e. J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) than the leaf extract. It could be concluded that the seed indicated a better antihypertensive activity while the leaf revealed a better antioxidant activity (Odubanjo et al., 2016). The vasorelaxant effect of the aqueous leaves extract of P. americana (0.01–12.8 mg/mL) was examined on isolated rat aorta. The results indicated that the extract showed a significant vasorelaxation in a concentration-related manner, and the effect was dependent on the synthesis or release of endothelium- derived relaxing factors and the release of prostanoid. This effect could also be probably due to inhibiting Ca2+ influx through calcium channels and, to a lesser extent, receptor-operated channels. It could be concluded that mentioned vascular effects could explain the hypotensive activity of the extract and its usage in the treatment of hypertension (Owolabi et al., 2005). The vasorelaxant effect of avocado has been demonstrated to be via the synthesis or release of endothelium-derived relaxing factors, the release of prostanoid and inhibiting Ca2+ influx through calcium channels. EFFECT ON ATHEROSCLEROSIS Clinical studies Postprandial effect of 68 g addition of avocado to a hamburger was evaluated on vasodilation and inflammation of healthy volunteers. The vasoconstriction following hamburger ingestion was not observed when the avocado flesh was ingested together with the burger. There was a significant preservation of Ikappa-B alpha as an inflammatory factor, consistent with reduced activation of the NF-kappa B inflammatory pathway. Avocado also decreased the elevated levels of TG. The results suggested that avocado had beneficial anti- inflammatory and vascular health effects when co-ingested with a hamburger patty (Li et al., 2013). In vivo studies Cardiovascular risk profile markers were evaluated in a rat model of sucrose-indused methabolic changes, treated with avocado oil. The oil reduced TG, VLDL, and LDL (significant) levels while no change was observed in HDL levels. It also reduced the concentration of high sensitivity C-reactive protein which is an indicator of inflammatory processes. The results of this study showed that avocado oil consumption reduced inflammatory processes and via improving these biomarkers, could prevent the development of MetS (Carvajal-Zarrabal et al., 2014a). The cardiovascular effects of P. americana aqueous leaf extract were investigated in three different animal models. In the first experiment, the effect of the extract on myocardial contractile performance was assessed on guinea pig isolated atrial muscle strips. In the second experiment, the vasodilatory effects of the extract were assessed on isolated portal veins and thoracic aortic rings of healthy rats in vitro. In the third experiment, the hypotensive effect of the extract was assessed in healthy normotensive and hypertensive rats in vivo. The results indicated that the extract caused bradycardia, vasorelaxation, and hypotension in these animal models, which encouraged the use of avocado in management of essential hypertension and certain cases of cardiac dysfunctions (Ojewole et al., 2007). The effect of methanolic seed extracts of P. americana (200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) on prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) tests was evaluated in mice. The results showed that the increase in PT and APTTwas dose dependent. Because the extract showed anticoagulant activity as it prolonged PT and APTT, it could be used as a cardio protective agent (EE et al., 2015). The antiplatelet and antithrombotic activities of avocado pulp were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that antiplatelet activity was initially attributed to Persenone-C (the most potent antiplatelet acetogenin) and Persenone-A (in vitro). The latter showed protective effects against arterial thrombosis (25 mg/kg, in vivo) as increased coagulation times and decreased thrombus formation. Inhibition of platelet aggregation may be due to the existence of acetogenin compounds in avocado. These compounds showed potential preventive effect on thrombus formation and were effective in ischaemic diseases (Rodriguez-Sanchez et al., 2015). Avocado fruit extracts were examined for their phytochemical, toxicological, biochemical, and hematological properties in rats. Extract treatment caused reduction of the activity of liver and heart enzymes including TC, VLDL, LDL, while HDL levels increased PT and APTT with kaolin also decreased. It could be concluded that the extract acted as a potential inhibitor of CVDs because of its preventive and possible curative values. Its role in the regulation of blood clotting time may be because of its significant vitamin K content (Gouegni and Abubakar, 2013). ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY Different parts of avocado such as leaves, pulp, seeds, peels, roots, and plant derived products are proved to have significant health benefits in different components of MetS because of their antioxidant activity, which can neutralize the oxidative stress, and cellular oxidation reaction under appropriate conditions (Abdulazeez and Ponnusamy, 2016; Wang et al., 2016). Promising observations have been made on the andioxidant activity of avocado and its antidiabetic effect via different mechanisms such as inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase (Ajani and Olanrewaju, 2014). Also the hypolipidemic effect of avocado has been demonstrated to be through its antioxidant activity because of its high carotenoid content (Unlu et al., 2005). The hypotensive effect of avocado and its antioxidant activity has been proved via the improvement of biochemical and oxidative status, and via protecting liver, kidney, and vascular endothelium against oxidative stress parameters (Dzeufiet et al., 2014). It is also believed that avocado in the diet through its effects on lipid metabolism and antioxidant properties, plays an important role in the prevention of CVDs (Pieterse, 2003). AVOCADO AND METABOLIC SYNDROME Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) For us to examine the antioxidant activity of the solvent extracts of avocado seeds, four different fractions were used to calculate this activity. All fractions were able to scavenge DPPH among which one fraction had antioxidant activity comparable with ascorbic acid (Nagaraj et al., 2010). Furthermore, the seeds, peels, and pulp of avocado were extracted with acetone/water/acetic acid solvents to determine their antioxidant capacity (1 g of pulp or 0.5 g of seeds or peels were extracted in 10 mL of the solvents), total phenolic content and to identify the major antioxidant compounds. Among different parts, the seedsshowed the highest antioxidant capacity. Procyanidins were the major phenolic compounds that contributed to antioxidant capacity. This study suggested that avocado seeds and peels could be used as source of antioxidants (Wang et al., 2010). The anticholinesterases and antioxidant activities of P. americana leaf and seed aqueous extracts were investigated via the activities of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes which are linked with Alzheimer disease, and DPPH, hydroxyl and nitric oxide scavenging ability, respectively. The leaf extract showed the highest phenolic content and radical scavenging activity (Oboh et al., 2016). Different phytoconstituents of the leaves of P. americana were isolated, and their antioxidant activity were evaluated using DPPH and H2O2 assays. This study concluded that the leaves had antioxidant activity which may be helpful in preventing the progress of various oxidative stress related diseases (Owolabi et al., 2010). Different phytoconstituents of the leaves of P. americana were isolated and their antioxidant activity were evaluated using DPPH, NO and reducing power and radical scavenging activity assays. This study concluded that methanolic extract of avocado possessed significant antioxidant activity (Asaolu et al., 2010). In a study, it was shown that avocado fruit had great ascorbic acid, total phenol concentrations, antioxidant capacity, and high levels of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and GR activities (Wang et al., 2016). The diethyl nitrosamine-induced elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, cyclooxygenase-2, lipoxygenase, caspase-3, DNA fragmentation, NO, MDA, TP, and serum lipid profile and liver functions were corrected in rats treated with avocado extract (1 mL/kg/day, orally for 4 weeks). The results indicated that avocado was able to diminish oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis induced by diethyl nitrosamine (Hamouda, 2015). In a study, the antioxidant activity of avocado was shown in different parts as follows: leaf > peel > oil > pulp, using DPPH assay. The antioxidant activity showed a positive correlation with total flavonoid content, and these parts were useful for future antioxidant products (Kumar and Cumbal, 2016). SAFETY The safety of avocado has been demonstrated in a study in which 2.5 g/kg (p.o) per day of the aqueous seed extract of P. americana, in a sub-acute experiment, were administered to the rats for 4 weeks. The extract did not affect the whole body weight or organ-to-body weight ratios though significantly increased the fluid intake and the concentration of total proteins. It could be concluded that this extract at the mentioned dose was safe on sub-acute basis (Ozolua et al., 2009). CONCLUSION In this review, we summarized different in vivo, in vitro and clinical studies accomplished by researchers around the world to find out the role of peel, seed, flesh, and leaves of avocado in MetS. Most of these studies have suggested the use of this plant in the diet, on a daily basis, to manage different components of MetS. According to the experimental studies reported in the literature, we observed that avocado had the most effect on lipid profile. The most affected biomarkers were LDL-C, HDL-C, TG, TC, and PLs. The reported mechanism of this effect was regulating of the hydrolysis of certain lipoproteins and their selective uptake and metabolism by different tissues such as liver and pancreas. Another possible mechanism could be related to the marked proliferation of the liver smooth endoplasmic reticulum which is known to be associated with induction of enzymes involved in lipid biosynthesis. In this review article, satisfactory clinical evidence suggested that avocado can be used as herbal dietary supplements for treatment of different components of MetS. Although, avocado like other herbal products is safe and generally better tolerated than synthetic medications, there is limited scientific evidence to evaluate different side effects because of contaminants, or interactions with drugs. Besides, further studies need to be accomplished on the metabolic effects of different parts of avocado for other possible mechanisms. Conflict of Interest The authors declare not to have any conflicts of interest. REFERENCES Abdulazeez SS, Ponnusamy P. 2016. Antioxidant and hypoglycemic activity of strawberry fruit extracts against alloxan induced diabetes in rats. Pak J PharmSci29: 255–260. Adeboye JO, Fajonyomi MO, Makinde JM, Taiwo OB. 1999. A preliminary study on the hypotensive activity of Persea americana leaf extracts in anaesthetized normotensive rats. Fitoterapia 70: 15–20. Ajani A, Olanrewaju BO. 2014. Avocado pear fruits and leaves aqueous extracts inhibit α-amylase, α-glucosidase and snp induced lipid peroxidation–an insight into mechanisms involve in management of type 2 diabetes. Int J Appl Nat Sci 3: 21–34. Akaberi M, Hosseinzadeh H. 2016. Grapes (Vitis vinifera) as a potential candidate for the therapy of the metabolic syndrome. Phytother Res 30: 540–556. Al-Dosari MS. 2011. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant activities of avocado fruit pulp on high cholesterol fed diet in rats. Afr J Pharm Pharmacol 5: 1475–1483. Alagbaoso CA, Tokunbo II, Osakwe OS. 2015. Comparative study of antioxidant activity and mineral composition of methanol extract of seeds of ripe and unripe avocado pear (Persea americana, Mill.). NISEB Journal 15: 123–127. J. TABESHPOUR ET AL. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phytother. Res. (2017) Alhassan A, Sule M, Atiku M,Wudil A, Abubakar H, Mohammed S. 2012. Effects of aqueous avocado pear (Persea americana) seed extract on alloxan induced diabetes rats. Greener J Med Sci 2: 5–11. Alvizouri-Muñoz M, Carranza-Madrigal J, Herrera-Abarca JE, Chávez-Carbajal F, Amezcua-Gastelum JL. 1992. Effects of avocado as a source of monounsaturated fatty acids on plasma lipid levels. Arch Med Res 23: 163–167. Anaka ON, Ozolua RI, Okpo SO. 2009. Effect of the aqueous seed extract of Persea americana Mill (Lauraceae) on the blood pressure of Sprague-Dawley rats. Afr J Pharm Pharmacol 3: 485–490. Antia B, Okokon J, Okon P. 2005. Hypoglycemic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Persea americana Mill. Indian J Pharmacol 37: 325–326. Asaolu M, Asaolu S, Fakunle J, Emman-Okon B, Ajayi E, Togun R. 2010. Evaluation of in-vitro antioxidant activities of methanol extracts of Persea americana and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius. Pak J Nutr 9: 1074–1077. Awad AB, Fink CS. 2000. Phytosterols as anticancer dietary components: evidence and mechanism of action. J Nutr 130: 2127–2130. Brahmachari G. 2011. Bio-flavonoids with promising antidiabetic potentials: a critical survey. In Opportunity, Challenge and Scope of Natural Products in Medicinal Chemistry, Tiwari VK, Mishra BB (eds), 1st edn. Research Signpost: Trivandrum; 187–212. Brai B, Odetola A, Agomo P. 2007a. Effects of Persea americana leaf extracts on body weight and liver lipids in rats fed hyperlipidaemic diet. Afr J Biotechnol 6: 1007–1011. Brai BI, Odetola A, Agomo P. 2007b. Hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic potential of Persea americana leaf extracts. J Med Food 10: 356–360. Brai BI, Odetola AA, Akindele SK, Fesobi TW, Agomo PU. 2012. Evaluation of antiperoxidative and antioxidant properties of aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts of Persea americana mill. In rats fed high lipid diet. Can J Pure Appl Sci 6: 2079–2088. Carranza-Madrigal J, Herrera-Abarca JE, Alvizouri-Muñoz M, Alvarado-Jimenez MR, Chavez-Carbajal F. 1997. Effects of a vegetarian diet vs. a vegetarian diet enriched with avocado in hypercholesterolemic patients. Arch Med Res 28: 537–541. Carranza J, Alvizouri M, Alvarado MR, Chávez F, Gómez M, Herrera JE. 1995. Effects of avocado on the level of blood lipids in patients with phenotype II and IV dyslipidemias. Arch Inst Cardiol Mex 65: 342–348. Carvajal-Zarrabal O, Nolasco-Hipolito C, Aguilar-Uscanga MG, Melo-Santiesteban G, Hayward-Jones PM, Barradas-Dermitz DM. 2014a. Avocado oil supplementation modifies cardiovascular
Compartilhar