Abstract

The objective was to analyze the bioactive compounds of the fruit and the ethanolic/acetonicextract of the Pedro Sato guava and to study their effect on the liver mass versus body mass ratio, hepatic lipids, C-reactive protein and levels of total and fractionated cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic Wistar rats. 6 groups were used: non-hypercholesterolemic control, hypercholesterolemic control, non-hypercholesterolemic treated with fruit, hypercholesterolemic treated with fruit, non-hypercholesterolemic treated with extract, hypercholesterolemic treated with extract. The treatments received the samples at a dosage of 50 mg kg^-1 daily for 42 days. This study showed that the daily consumption of a guava (100 g) can contribute 10.08% of the fiber and 68.47% of the vitamin C recommended, besides supplying considerable amounts of phenolic compounds. All the hypercholesterolemic animals treated with the samples presented a reduction in the total and fractionated cholesterol levels; however there was no difference for the liver mass versus body mass ratio, hepatic lipids and C-reactive protein. These results show the importance of the guava consumption in the control of the hypercholesterolemia in rats and it may prevent and reduce the risk of heart diseases.

Key words: Antioxidants, cholesterol, dietary fiber, Psidium guajava, rats.