Mango phenolics increase the serum apolipoprotein A1/B ratio in rats fed high cholesterol and sodium cholate diets

BACKGROUND Serum lipoproteins are in dynamic equilibrium, partially controlled by the apolipoprotein A1 to apolipoprotein B ratio (APOA1/APOB). Freeze‐dried mango pulp (FDM) is a rich source of phenolic compounds (MP) and dietary fiber (MF), although their effects on lipoprotein metabolism have not yet been studied. RESULTS Thirty male Wistar rats were fed with four different isocaloric diets (3.4 kcal g−1) for 12 weeks: control diet, high cholesterol (8 g kg−1) + sodium cholate (2 g kg−1) diet either alone or supplemented with MF (60 g kg−1), MP (1 g kg−1) or FDM (50 g kg−1). MP and FDM reduced food intake, whereas MF and MP tended to increase serum APOA1/APOB ratio, independently of their hepatic gene expression. This suggests that lipoprotein metabolism was favorably altered by mango bioactives, MP also mitigated the non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis that resulted from the intake of this diet. CONCLUSION We propose that phenolics are the most bioactive components of mango pulp, acting as anti‐atherogenic and hepatoprotective agents, with a mechanism of action tentatively based on changes to the main protein components of lipoproteins. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry