ANTI-NUTRITIONAL CONSTITUENT OF COLOCASIA ESCULENTA ...

C.l.4 Aim and outline ofSection C
The administration of a chemical compound may bring about significant changes in the
structure, function, metabolic transformation and concentration ofbiomolecules, enzymes
and metabolic pathways. These changes, be they rapid or slow, may lead to diverse
biochemical mechanisms producing comparable pathological, clinical and laboratory
findings (Murray etal., 2000).
Extensive studies of the hypocholesterolaemic results (Lees et aI., 1977; Richter et aI.,
1996; Vanstone et al., 2001) ofbeta-sitosterol have been carried out, but the effect ofthis
compound on digestive enzymes has, to the best of the author's knowledge, not been
studied previously.
The objective of Section C was to determine the effect of dietary beta-sitosterol on the
digestive and absorptive enzymes ofrats. To achieve this:
• beta-sitosterol, esterified to oleic acid, would be fed to rats through stomach pumps;
• the rats would be sacrificed and the intestinal disaccharidases (sucrase, maltase and
lactase) and ATPase activities monitored;
• organs (liver, kidneys and small intestines) would be histologically examined;
• the animals' blood would be tested for total glucose, total proteins, triacylglycerols,
total cholesterol, liver enzymes and blood-cell counts.
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