Raisins Preserve Thyroid Gland Function and Structure in an Animal Model of Hypercholesterolemia

Nasra Ayuob; Soad Ali Shaker; Abdulaziz Bakhshwin; Samar Alsaggaf; Ghada Helal; Shereen Hamed

doi:10.4103/jmau.jmau_93_20

Raisins Preserve Thyroid Gland Function and Structure in an Animal Model of Hypercholesterolemia

J Microsc Ultrastruct. 2021 Jan 29;10(2):55-62. doi: 10.4103/jmau.jmau_93_20. eCollection 2022 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Nasra Ayuob^{1

2}, Soad Ali Shaker^{2

3}, Abdulaziz Bakhshwin⁴, Samar Alsaggaf³, Ghada Helal⁵, Shereen Hamed⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt.
² Yousef Abdullatif Jameel, Chair of Prophetic Medical Applications (YAJCPMA), Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Medical Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Statins are among the first line of pharmacological treatment of lipid disorders and lowering serum cholesterol, but they have many side effects.

Aim: The study aim was to evaluate the role of raisins in protecting the thyroid function and structure in a rat model of hypercholesterolemia, through biochemical and histopathological investigation.

Materials and methods: Thirty male rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10 each) of albino rats included the control, high cholesterol diet (HCD)-fed for 13 weeks and HCD plus Raisins were included in this study. Blood levels of glucose, insulin, cholesterol, lipids, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), T3, T4, oxidants/anti-oxidants were assessed. Thyroid gland was processed and examined histopathologically using light and electron microscopy.

Results: Feeding HCD resulted in hypercholesterolemia in rats after 13 weeks as evidence by lipid profile. Ingestion of raisins along with HCD resulted in a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the levels of insulin, blood glucose, thyroxine (T4) and malondialdehyde (MDA), while the levels of TSH, T3 and total anti-oxidant capacity significantly (P < 0.001) elevated. Raisins histologically alleviated the HCD-induced structural changes in the thyroid glands that included degenerated mitochondria and increased lipid droplets in the cytoplasm.

Conclusions: Simultaneous administration of raisins along with HCD, administrated for a short time, could modulate the negative effect on thyroid gland structure and function.

Keywords: Anti-oxidants; high fat; hypercholesterolemia; raisins; structure; thyroid hormones; ultrastructure.