Abstract:
Cigarette smoke can damage the lungs by inducing lipid peroxidation as a result of free radical formation. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of cocoa powder in lowering the lipid peroxide levels in the lungs of cigarette smoke-exposed BALB/c mice. The test subjects were divided into five groups and were treated as follows: Group 1 and Group 2 mice were not given supplementation; Group 3 mice were supplemented with vitamin C; Group 4 mice were supplemented with 0.1 g cocoa powder / kg body weight and Group 5 mice were supplemented with 1 g cocoa powder / kg body weight. All the groups except for Group 1 were then exposed to cigarette smoke in a custom-made smoking chamber for 10 minutes per day for a period of 12 days. Following the exposure period, each mouse was sacrificed. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenates were obtained and assayed spectrophotometrically for levels of malondialdeyde (MDA) and total protein. Results show that among the smoke-exposed mice, tire low-dose and high-dose cocoa-supplemented mice have lower lipid peroxide levels than the unsupplemented mice. These reduced levels were also similar to the mean lipid peroxide levels measured in the vitamin C-supplemented mice. These findings suggest that the consumption of cocoa-derived products can be helpfill in reducing oxidative stresses acquired through secondhand smoke.
