Research Article Ellagic Acid Suppresses the Oxidative Stress Induced by Dietary-Oxidized Tallow Alam Zeb 1,2 and Adnan Akbar 2 1 Laboratory of Functional Foods Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Technical University of Graz, Graz, Styria, Austria 2 Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Correspondence should be addressed to Alam Zeb; azebuom@gmail.com Received 2 July 2018; Accepted 17 October 2018; Published 18 November 2018 Guest Editor: Marina Sokovic Copyright © 2018 Alam Zeb and Adnan Akbar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dietary tallow was thermally oxidized at 180 ° C in an open fryer. The oxidized tallow (OT) and unoxidized tallow were characterized for oxidation parameters and fatty acid composition using GC-MS. Tallow samples were fed to rabbits along with 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg/day of ellagic acid (EA) for three weeks. Results revealed that the peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) significantly increased, while radical scavenging activity (RSA) of the tallow decreased significantly with oxidation. GC-MS analysis showed eight fatty acids in the tallow samples, where palmitic acid (48.5-49.7 g/100 g), linoleic acid (18.7-23.7 g/100 g), stearic acid (13.5-15.6 g/100 g), and margaric acid (6.32-6.42 g/100 g) were the major fatty acids. Animal studies showed that oxidized tallow (OT) alone or in combination with EA significantly altered the body weight of the rabbits. Serum biochemical parameters and renal function tests were affected by OT and ameliorated by EA. The toxic effects of OT on haematological indices were minimized by EA. The supplementation of OT alone had significant effects on the liver structure and functions. The coadministration of EA reduced the toxic properties of OT on the liver, by increasing the antioxidant (GSH) system. The rabbit heart was also affected by the OT, which was ameliorated by EA supplementation. These results suggested that the supplementation of EA was beneficial against the OT-induced oxidative stress and may be considered for foods containing oxidized lipids. 1. Introduction Foods are prepared in dietary lipids such as fats or oils. During frying or food preparation, triacylglycerols are oxi- dized to form primary oxidation products. These primary oxidation products may include hydroperoxides, epoxides, hydroxides, and epoxides [1]. The lipid oxidation products formed are highly reactive. Most of these products are either free radicals or highly oxygenated compounds with high affinity for further reactions [2]. During the frying of foods, these products enter the food matrix and consequently con- sumed by humans [3]. The oxidized lipids then enter the gas- trointestinal system, where it is metabolized or reaches the intestine as such. During digestion, these oxidized products alter several biochemical reactions thus causing toxicity [4]. The toxicity of the oxidized lipids may also be due to their capacity to form a complex with proteins. The oxidized prod- ucts are toxic and are capable of inhibiting enzymatic reac- tions and cellular respiration and also contribute to ageing. The dietary lipid oxidation induces oxidative stress and increases lipogenesis in animal models [5, 6]. The lipogenesis was more pronounced in the liver and also in adipose tissues. Dietary oxidized frying oil had been found to upregu- late both hepatic acyl-CoA oxidase enzyme and one of the important genes (cytochrome p450 4 a1) in rats [7]. The dietary oxidized oil also activates peroxisome proliferator- activating receptors thus altering lipid metabolism. These effects were independent of the nature of the animal used [8]. The oxidized dietary lipids were also found to alter the glucose metabolism [9]. The oxidized lipids induced glucose intolerance by the mediation of altering the insulin secretion. The oxidized tallow was found to increase significantly the Hindawi Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity Volume 2018, Article ID 7408370, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7408370