Preparation and evaluation of functional foods in adjuvant arthritis

Adjuvant arthritis is an animal model that closely resembles rheumatoid arthritis in humans. It is a successful working model used to study new anti-inflammatory agents. In previous studies (animal and clinical) we have shown that evening primrose oil, fish oil and the methanol extract of date fruits and fenugreek seeds have anti-inflammatory activity and that the methanol extract of dates has an antioxidant effect. Based on these studies, the aim of the present study was to prepare 7 functional foods containing such bioactive fractions separately or in combination and to evaluate them in adjuvant arthritis in rats, study the stability of bioactive ingredients and evaluate their sensory properties. The studied biochemical parameters were erythrocyte sedimentation rate, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and plasma copper, zinc and interlukin 2. Nutritional parameters, including body weight gain, food intake and food efficiency ratio were monitored during the feeding of the functional foods. The bioactive ingredients assessed were total phenolic contents and fatty acids. The results showed improvement in the biochemical parameters, body weight gain and food efficiency ratio of arthritic rats fed on the functional foods with different degrees. All the prepared functional foods were sensory accepted. The active ingredients showed stability during storage. In conclusion, all the tested functional foods showed promising antiinflammatory activity and were determined to be acceptable through sensory evaluation which means that their potential beneficial use as dietary supplements in rheumatoid arthritis patients may be recommended. La artritis adyuvante es un modelo utilizado en animales y se caracteriza por ser muy parecida a la artritis reumatoide en humanos. Se trata de un modelo de trabajo utilizado con éxito para estudiar nuevos agentes anti-inflamatorios. En estudios previos (animales y clínica) hemos demostrado que el aceite de onagra, el aceite de pescado y los extractos metanólicos de semillas de fenogreco o alholva y de dátiles tienen actividad anti-inflamatoria y que el extracto metanólico de dátiles tiene efecto antioxidante. Basado en estos estudios, el objetivo del presente trabajo consistió en preparar alimentos funcionales con siete fracciones bioactivas por separado y conjuntamente y evaluarlas en artritis adyuvante en ratas, estudiar la estabilidad de los principios bioactivos y evaluar sus propiedades sensoriales. Los parámetros bioquímicas estudiados fueron la velocidad de sedimentación globular, la enzima superóxido di