Ginger or Black Pepper Supplements Attenuate Oxidative stress and Renal Damage in Metabolic Syndrome-induced Wistar Rats

There has been an increasing occurrence of cardio-metabolic risk factors globally due to increasing consumption of fructosesweetened foods and drinks that cause excessive generation of free radicals. This research investigated the inclusion of ginger and black pepper in the diet as an easy and affordable  means of managing oxidative stress and kidney damage in metabolic syndrome-induced rats. Fifteen metabolic syndrome-induced rats were divided into  three groups and fed on diets supplemented with 2 % inclusions of ginger or black pepper. Serum activities of antioxidant enzymes and some indices of  renal functions were determined. Compared with the normal control, there were significantly (p<0.05) lower activities of all the studied antioxidant  enzymes (Superoxide dismutase, Glutathione peroxidase, Catalase, and glutathione reductase) in the groups of metabolic syndrome induced-rats fed  ginger or black pepper-supplemented diets which had significantly higher activities of these enzymes if compared with the group of metabolic syndrome-  induced rats fed standard diets. The serum concentrations of malondialdehyde in all the groups of metabolic syndrome-induced rats fed the  spices-supplemented diets did not significantly (p>0.05) differ from the concentration in the control group. The groups of metabolic-syndrome-induced  rats fed ginger or black pepper-supplemented diets had significantly (p<0.05) higher concentrations of urea, uric acid, and creatinine in comparison with  the normal control, but significantly (p<0.05) lower concentrations of these metabolites if compared with the metabolic syndrome-induced rats fed a  standard diet. Similarly, the concentrations of serum electrolytes were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the groups of metabolic-syndrome-induced rats fed  spices-supplemented diets compared with the normal control. From the findings, it is concluded that including ginger or black pepper in diets could be  useful in managing oxidative stress and kidney dysfunction resulting from the consumption of metabolic syndrome-causing diets.