Evaluation of the Anti-ulcer Effect of Extra Virgin Avocado (Persea americana) Oil in Rats

Peptic ulcer disease is a gastrointestinal disorder of high mortality and morbidity. Therapy of this disease condition with conventional drugs presents therapeutic challenge due to incidents of unwanted side effects, and the high cost of these medications. The use of products from natural sources will provide useful alternatives due to their minimal side effects, being inexpensive, and readily available, especially in resource-challenged nations of the continent of Africa and other developing economies. Oils derived from plants are increasingly being used in management of several disease conditions. This study aims at evaluating the antiulcer activity of extra virgin avocado oil in rodents using ethanol-induced, and indomethacin-induced ulcer models. Test group was given extra virgin avocado oil (1ml per 250g weight) for 7 days before induction of ulcer. Positive controls received omeprazole 30 mg/kg, while negative control animals were given distilled water (10ml/kg) for 7 days respectively, before induction of ulcer. The stomachs were excised and their histopathological examinations carried out. Avocado oil significantly reduced the ulcer index in both models when compared to the negative control group, and histopathological findings corroborate that the oil ameliorates ulcerations in both models. The present study has demonstrated that extra virgin avocado oil possesses significant antiulcer activity.

Hypoglycaemic Activity of Extra Virgin Avocado (Persea americana) Oil and Extra Virgin Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Oil on Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic, metabolic disorder characterized by abnormal elevation of blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia). Despite significant milestones achieved using conventional drugs in managing the disease, there are some drawbacks associated with their use such as drug resistance, adverse drug effects, high cost, and sometimes outright therapeutic failure. The urgent need to bridge this therapeutic lacuna calls for further exploration and investigation of other treatment options. This study therefore aims at evaluating the antidiabetic potentials of virgin avocado oil and virgin coconut oil in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Animals were divided into 5 groups of five rats each. Group 1 (negative control) received 10 ml /kg/day of normal saline, group 2 (diabetic control) -10 ml/kg/day of normal saline; group 3 received extra virgin avocado oil (1 ml/250 g) body weight, group 4 received extra virgin coconut oil (2 ml/kg) bodyweight, and group 5 received 10 mg/kg/day of metformin. Treatments were administered orally for 15 days. Extra virgin avocado oil and extra virgin coconut oil respectively showed significant antidiabetic activities, and may be beneficial for management of diabetes mellitus.

Avocado Oil Prevents Kidney Injury and Normalizes Renal Vasodilation after Adrenergic Stimulation in Hypertensive Rats: Probable Role of Improvement in Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress

Hypertension impairs the function of the kidney and its vasculature. Adrenergic activation is involved in these processes by promoting oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus, the targeting of mitochondrial function and mitochondrial oxidative stress may be an approach to alleviate hypertensive kidney damage. Avocado oil, a source of oleic acid and antioxidants, improves mitochondrial dysfunction, decreases mitochondrial oxidative stress, and enhances vascular function in hypertensive rats. However, whether avocado oil improves the function of renal vasculature during the adrenergic stimulation, and if this is related to improvement in renal damage and enhancement of mitochondrial activity is unknown. Thus, the effects of avocado oil on renal vascular responses to adrenergic stimulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and renal damage were compared with prazosin, an antagonist of α1-adrenoceptors, in hypertensive rats induced by L-NAME. Avocado oil or prazosin decreased blood pressure, improved endothelium—dependent renal vasodilation, prevented mitochondrial dysfunction and kidney damage in hypertensive rats. However, avocado oil, but not prazosin, decreased mitochondrial ROS generation and improved the redox state of mitochondrial glutathione. These results suggest that avocado oil and prazosin prevented hypertensive renal damage due to the improvement in mitochondrial function.

An experimental study on the effect of concentration of green nanoadditives on the tribological properties of the biolubricants

The paper aims to introduce a sustainable solution in the field of lubrication science. A green nano additive, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is mixed with two biofriendly natural oils (avocado oil and hazelnut oil) and the tribological properties of the nanolubricants are evaluated on a four-ball tribotester. The nanoparticles are less than 100 nm in diameter and are added in varying concentrations of 0-1 wt.%. The tribological properties are evaluated as per ASTM D4172 and the stability of the nanoparticles is measured for a period of 24 hours using a double beam spectrophotometer. The UV spectroscopy results indicate the nanoparticles are stable after the sonication process and sediment very less after 24 hours. The antiwear properties of both natural oil improve with the increase in the concentration of h-BN nanoparticles. The maximum improvement in the wear properties is observed at 1 wt.% and is equal to 19.5% and 36.55% for avocado oil and hazelnut oil respectively. The improvement in the antiwear properties are ascribed to the different nanolubrication mechanisms: tribofilm formation, non-direct contact phenomenon, and entrapment of nanoparticles between wear agglomerates.

Organoleptic and physicochemical properties of ‘Hass’ avocado (Persea americana Mill) oil extract obtained using cold press technology

Largely grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, avocado (Persea americana Mill) contains 3 – 30% of oil in its pulp, depending on the variety. This study profiled the quality attributes of oil obtained from ‘Hass’ avocado cultivar using the cold press method of extraction. Physicochemical properties of saponification value (SV), acid value (AV), percentage free fatty acid (FFA) and colour were determined for the extracted oil samples. Sensory analysis was conducted to determine consumer acceptability of the ‘Hass’ avocado oil extract. Results of the analysis showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in the SV, AV and FFA of the avocado oil extract. A significant difference was also found to exist in the L* and a* colour properties of the extracted oil. On the determination of the organoleptic properties, it was observed that consumers displayed a higher preference for commercial pure avocado oil than the extracted oil used in this study, although extracted ‘Hass’ avocado oil exhibited higher physicochemical properties when compared to commercial pure avocado oil.