Hepatoprotective, Hypoglycemic, and Hypolipidemic Effect of Chokeberry Pomace on Polish Merino Lambs*

ABSTRACT

To properly understand the biological effect of polyphenol compounds, it should not be assumed that they are generally bioavailable and are reaching tissues as expected. It is important to fully understand how polyphenol compounds are absorbed, metabolized, and finally eliminated from the organism. Most polyphenol compounds occur in the forms that cannot be absorbed in their primary form. Sheep make compounds bioavailable due to their unique digestive system properties. Despite this, several species of ruminants likely to serve as an experimental model were considered. However, due to the high costs for cattle and low popularity in the region of goats, sheep were selected as the experimental model. In the study, 24 Polish Merino lambs were randomly divided into a control and two experimental groups. The experimental groups were administered diets with the addition of 150 or 300 g of chokeberry pomace per each kg of complete feed mixture. Phenolics present in the chokeberry pomace were found to modulate biochemical blood parameters, resulting in hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. Finally, the increase in total phenolics in the serum and liver of lambs induced a health-promoting effect on liver metabolic profile parameters.

KEYWORDS:

• Health-promoting effect
• nutraceuticals
• phenolics
• ruminants

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all co-workers from the Department of Animal Improvement, IGAB PAS in Jastrzębiec. Special thanks are due to Weronika Grzybek M.Sc., Karina Horbańczuk M.Sc., Magdalena Bujalska M.Sc., and Ewa Poławska PhD.