Antioxidant and antilipidemic action of ketogenic diet and tomato powder mix in high sugar and fat fed Harwich fruit flies

Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of oxidative stress in metabolic disorders which presents as a major global problem. The antioxidant properties of the tomato fruit and the ketogenic diet has likewise been established by different authors. This study uses a fruit fly model to examine the synergistic effect of a ketogenic diet and tomato powder mix on biochemical alterations induced by the High-Fat Diet (HFD) and the High-Sugar Diet (HSD). Six groups of male fruit flies consisting of fifty flies per vial were administered Normal Diet (ND), High-Fat Diet (HFD), High Sugar Diet (HSD), Ketogenic Diet (KD), Tomato Powder-mix (TP), and HSD + HFD, for ten days. Further treatment of KD and TP was administered to group six vials to constitute groups seven to nine: HSD + HFD + KD, HSD + HFD + TP, and HSD + HFD + KD + TP for another five days. Biochemical parameters of oxidative stress were analyzed in the fly homogenates using standard procedures. There were significant increases (P < 0.05) in the concentration of malondialdehyde, total cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol, Triglycerides, atherogenic index, nitric oxide, total weight gained, and a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in levels of catalase and HDL-Cholesterol in flies treated with HF and HS diets. Further administration of KD and TP to the flies for five days reversed most of the parameters to near control values. The KD diet combination with TP however gave the best ameliorative changes. The dietary model may therefore be effective as adjuvant therapy for the management of metabolic disorders developed and made progressive by oxidative stress and hyperlipidemia.