Why Melon Oil Protects Against Heart Problems

Researchers have said that merely using egusi melon oil as one’s table, cooking and frying oil ensures a good supply of
polyunsaturated fatty acids that has
protective effect against coronary heart
diseases (CHD) and also improves insulin
sensitivity.
Researchers studying the effect of the fatty
acid composition of Egusi melon oil on the
body found out its inclusion in any diet
containing high cholesterol can help to
counteract the effect such a diet rich in
cholesterol would have on the body.
According to them, “the reductions in total
and esterified cholesterol observed in the
egusi melon oil-fed rats is of interest since
the offending fat in the hardening and
narrowing of blood vessels is the
cholesterol fraction.”
The body needs cholesterol for tasks such
as maintaining the walls of cells. But too
much of the “bad” type increases the risk of
heart attacks and strokes. Usually people
with high blood cholesterol levels are
usually given drugs in order to block
cholesterol production as well as lower the
level of the type of cholesterol that furs up
the arteries by forming fatty plaques.
Too much of the “bad” type increases the
risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Consequently, development of methods for
lowering Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL
cholesterol levels has become a major focus
of medical research.
A variety of factors can affect a person’s
cholesterol levels. They include diet,
overweight, lack of exercise, age and
gender, heredity and certain medications
and diseases like diabetes.
Although diet play a role in diseases of the
heart and the blood vessels, but eating fatty
foods does not necessarily mean that
someone will develop plaques. The types of
fats consumed also seem to be important;
fats which add to bad cholesterol tend to
contribute to atherogenesis because the
plaques often contain cholesterol.
The approach of reducing dietary
cholesterol suffers from two limitations. The
first is that cholesterol is present in all
animal fats and many people are unwilling
to scarify their preferred diet. The second is
that the liver and other tissues synthesize
cholesterol de novo if the dietary supply is
inadequate.
For the 2008 study published in The
Internet Journal of Cardiovascular Research,
the researchersextracted the oil from the
seeds of Citrullus lanatus (egusi melon) and
then determined its fatty acid composition.
The study was carried out by Olarewaju M.
Oluba and Isaac O. Isiosio from the
University of Benin, Benin City and
Olalekan Adeyemi from Adekunle Ajasin
University Akungba Akoko, Ondo State in
collaboration with Godwin C. Ojieh from the
College of Medicine Ambrose Alli University,
Ekpoma, Edo State. It was entitled, ”Fatty
Acid Composition Of Citrullus Lanatus (Egusi
Melon) Oil And Its Effect On Serum Lipids
And Some Serum Enzymes.”
The extracted oil was then used in diet
formulation and fed (as a supplement to
cholesterol-based diet) to rats for a period
of six weeks to determine its effect on
blood lipids (Any major lipid in the
circulation–total cholesterol, good High
Density Lipoprotein or HDL, LDL, TGs) and
some selected serum enzymes used to aid
diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
The control rats were fed a diet containing
5 per cent cholesterol without egusi melon
oil while the experimental rats received a
diet containing 5 per cent cholesterol with 5
per cent egusi melon oil. The major lipids in
circulation of the tested animals were then
measured.
They wrote in the journal: “Egusi melon oil
with a rich content of polyunsaturated fatty
acid was found to produce a significant
reduction in serum (blood) total, free and
esterified cholesterol and triglyceride
concentrations. A similar corresponding
significant reduction in serum activities of
the enzymes were observed in the egusi
melon oil-fed rats. In addition, feeding egusi
melon oil to rats reduced severe
atherosclerosis in the aorta.“
There were four main fatty acids in egusi
melon seed oil. These are palmitic, stearic,
oleic and linoleic acids, linoleic acid being
the most abundant. 71.9 per cent of the
fatty acid content of egusi melon seed oil
are unsaturated out of which 14.5 per cent
are monounsaturated fatty acids and the
remaining 57.4 per cent are
polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Linoleic acid and linolenic acid as well as
other fatty acids have been reported to
have protective effect against CHD. Studies
have shown that linoleic acid, an omega-3
fatty acid, lowers total and LDL cholesterol
concentrations, which are established risk
factors of CHD and also improves insulin
sensitivity.
In conclusion, the researchers declared that
“ the use of egusi melon oil as edible oil for
cooking and frying and also as a food
supplement especially in regions with high
fat diets as staples is strongly
recommended because of its high content
of essential fatty acids and its positive
health benefits on serum lipids.”
However, they stated that further studies
are warranted to confirm their results and
to determine the exact mechanism(s) by
which egusi melon oil protects against
coronary heart disease.
Certainly, changing what you eat can lower
your cholesterol and ensure that a lesser
amount of fats is floating through the
bloodstream. Different foods lower
cholesterol in various ways. Some deliver
soluble fibre, which binds cholesterol and its
precursors in the digestive system and
drags them out of the body before they get
into circulation. Some gives polyunsaturated
fats, which directly lower LDL. And some
contain plant sterols and stanols, which
block the body from absorbing cholesterol.
For instance, an easy step to ensure a safe
cholesterol level is having a bowl of oatmeal
for breakfast. Beans, eggplant and okra are
especially rich in soluble fibre that mops up
cholesterol. Substituting your cooking oil
with vegetable oils, such as olive, canola
and sunflower, helps to lower LDL. Fruits
such as apples, grapes, strawberries and
citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a type of
soluble fibre that lowers LDL.
In addition, eating fishes two or three times
a week can lower LDL by replacing meat,
which has LDL-boosting saturated fats, and
by delivering LDL-lowering omega-3 fats.
Omega-3s reduce triglycerides in the blood
stream and also protect the heart by helping
to prevent the onset of abnormal heart
rhythms.
However, experts comparing the
effectiveness of apple, oat and garden egg
in lowering the bad cholesterol in the blood
suggested that garden egg was the best.
Although apple and oat are common
components of breakfast in Western
countries, just as eggplant is widely
consumed in Nigeria, researchers pointed
out in a 2005 study published in the
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition that “garden
egg significantly reduced the total
cholesterol and triglyceride as well as
increase the HDL compared to oat and apple
in both the mid-term and full-term studies.”
This study involving James Karho Edijala,
Samuel Ogheneovo Asagba and Uzezi
Atomatofa from the Department of
Biochemistry, Delta State University, Abraka,
in collaboration with George Edaghogho
Eriyamremu from the Department of
Biochemistry, University of Benin, Benin
City, was entitled “Comparative Effect of
Garden Egg Fruit, Oat and Apple on Serum
Lipid in Rats Fed a High Cholesterol Diet.”
They wrote, “the results obtained indicate
that garden egg plant significantly reduced
weight gain of rats and feed efficiency
compared with the other supplements.”
Apart from the lowering of blood
cholesterol for the two and four weeks
study periods showing a similar trend, they
wrote the blood cholesterol-reduction of a
diet containing oat, apple or oat can be
detected after two weeks of feeding.