Formulation of Multi-Source Edible Oils from Palm oil and African Walnut oil and Study of Their Effect on Hematological, Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers in High Fat Diet Obese-Induced Wistar Rats

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of palm oil, African walnut oil and their blends on hematological, inflammatory, and some oxidative stress markers in high fat diet (HFD) obese-induced Wistar rats. Obesity was induced for 60 days and treated for 28 days using edible oils [palm oil, African walnut oil, palm oil: African walnut oil (50:50) and palm oil : African walnut oil (60:40)] and orlistat (10 mg/Kg). Thereafter the animals were sacrificed, blood was collected for hematological studies and the preparation of the serum, while the organs harvested were used to prepare organ homogenates. Serum and organ homogenates were used for the evaluation of inflammation and oxidative stress markers. Results showed that the oils utilized were confirmed to be of high quality through their good stability indices (peroxide value: 2.52-3.87meq O2/Kg; p-anisidine value: 8.24-12.33, TOTOX value: 13.37-19.46,). Looking at the haematological study, animals that received the HFD presented the lowest (p<0.05) hematocrit and Platelet. PO:WO (50:50 and 60:40) significantly (p<0.05) decreased the granulocytes concentration in the blood of rats. PO:WO (50:50) significantly (p<0.05) increased the lymphocyte concentration while 100% PO increased the mid-size white blood cells level in the animals. Serum levels of inflammation markers were higher (p<0.05) in the negative control group (354.44-385.82 pg/mL) compared to the other groups (147.22-271.55 pg/mL). The analysis of oxidative stress parameters revealed that the administered oils and orlistat generally exhibited good protections compared to the normal and negative control groups, which might be due to the presence of omega-3 fatty acids and bioactives such as β-carotene and vitamin E which have good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be concluded that these oils have a role in protecting against obesity through their effects on oxidative stress, hematology, and inflammatory cytokines.