ANTI-OBESITY AND ANTI-DYSLIPIDEMIC EFFECTS OF OIL PALM PHENOLICS IN PREVENTING ATHEROSLEROSIS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Water-soluble phenolics from the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) possess significant antioxidant and health-promoting properties. This invention documents the effects of administering oil palm phenolics to mice, with the aim of identifying whether these compounds possess significant anti-obesity or anti-dyslipidemics properties for the prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. We first explored the gene expression changes caused by oil palm phenolics in livers of mice given a low-fat normal diet, in which fatty acid beta oxidation genes were up-regulated while five cholesterol biosynthesis genes were down-regulated. In addition, the weight gain of mice given oil palm palm phenolics was delayed, suggesting that oil palm phenolics may play a role in delaying the onset of obesity. Using Illumina microarrays, we found that the atherogenic diet caused oxidative stress, up-regulated the inflammatory response and increased the turnover of metabolites and cells in the liver, spleen and heart. In contrast, we found that oil palm phenolics showed signs of attenuating the effects of the atherogenic diet in mice. The extract increased unfolded protein response in the liver, while attenuated antigen presentation and processing in the spleen. Oil palm phenolics also increased the expression of antioxidant genes in the heart. A majority of the genes regulated by oil palm phenolics in the different organs showed a difference in direction of regulation when compared to the atherogenic diet.