Passiflora edulis seed oil from west Cameroon: Chemical characterization and assessment of its hypolipidemic effect in high‐fat diet–induced rats

In this study, the in vivo hypolipidemic effect of west Cameroonian Passiflora edulis variety seed oil (PE) was assessed in female and male Wistar rats. The chemical properties of the oil were evaluated through the determination of the peroxide, iodine, and thiobarbituric acid values, as well as its fatty acid composition using gas chromatography. Results showed that the oil extraction yield was 19.90% and its quality indexes were as follows: peroxide value = 2.10 ± 0.20 meq O(2)/kg; thiobarbituric acid value = 0.25 ± 0.00 ppm; and iodine value = 97.40 ± 0.45 g I(2)/100 g. Its fatty acid composition showed that it contains about 84.88% of unsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid being the most represented (68.39%), followed by oleic acid (14.31%). The administration of this oil resulted in a significant reduction (p < .05) in the level of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol in rats. The PE groups showed a significant increase (p < .05) in high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol compared with untreated male rats. A similar trend was observed with female rats for triglycerides, but lowest values were observed with olive oil at 1 ml. This study suggests that P. edulis seed oil is rich in linoleic acid, which might be responsible for its hypolipidemic effect comparable to that of olive oil.