Effect of administration of CHAGURO made of chayote (Sechium edule) and tuna (Thunnus sp.)on rats induced with streptozotocin-nicotinamide and a high-fat diet

This study was conducted to develop Chaguro, a low-cost supplementary food made of chayote (Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz) and tuna fish (Thunnus sp.), for diabetes and dyslipidemia diet therapy. In order to find a formula with effective hypoglycaemic and antidyslipidemic properties, dried tuna and chayote were mixed at different ratios: F1 (75 tuna, 25 chayote), F2 (50 tuna, 50 chayote), and F3 (25 tuna, 75 chayote). Thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned into healthy control group or groups induced with streptozotocin-nicotinamide and a high-fat diet. Chaguro was administered 2.7 g/ kgBW/ day using a gavage for 28 days. The administration of all Chaguro formulas improved blood markers compared to the negative control group(p < 0.001). Chaguro F1 lowered fasting blood glucose (97.07±1.18 vs 266.31±5.31), total cholesterol(113.59±2.22 vs 208.78±4.31), triglycerides (89.93±2.51 vs142.35±2.83), LDL-c (33.87±1.87 vs 87.85±3.34) and increased HDL-c (69,08±1,85 vs 23,91±1,64) level the most compared to the negative control group (p < 0.001). Streptozotocin-induced weight loss was also prevented in all diabetic rats fed with Chaguro, with the body weight being similar to that of healthy controls at the end of the intervention (p < 0.001). This study found that Chaguro may be a potential food product to help lower blood glucose and improve lipid profile in diabetes and dyslipidemia. © 2021 The Author(s).