Research Article Banana Blossom (Musa acuminate Colla) Incorporated Experimental Diets Modulate Serum Cholesterol and Serum Glucose Level in Wistar Rats Fed with Cholesterol Ruvini Liyanage, 1 Saranya Gunasegaram, 2 Rizliya Visvanathan, 1 Chathuni Jayathilake, 1 Pabodha Weththasinghe, 2 Barana Chaminda Jayawardana, 2 and Janak Kamil Vidanarachchi 2 1 National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hantana Road, Kandy, Sri Lanka 2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka Correspondence should be addressed to Ruvini Liyanage; ruvini@ifs.ac.lk Received 5 October 2016; Revised 5 November 2016; Accepted 9 November 2016 Academic Editor: Maurizio Averna Copyright © 2016 Ruvini Liyanage et al. Tis 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. Hypocholesterolaemic and hypoglycaemic efect of banana blossom were studied in high-cholesterol fed rats. Experimental groups were fed for 4 weeks, with casein as the basal diet (CN), in comparison with two diets containing 0.5% cholesterol (CD) and 0.5% cholesterol + 21% banana blossom powder (CDB). Serum total cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol level, and serum glucose concentrations were lower in CDB fed group compared with CD fed group. Lower serum cholesterol and glucose level ( < 0.05) in CDB fed group were followed by higher faecal weight, caecal weight, caecal Lactobacilli, and Bifdobacteria population in CDB fed group compared to CD diet fed group. Lower serum AST level in banana blossom fed rats showed the reduction in oxidative stress induced by high cholesterol diet. Based on these data, it could be speculated that banana blossom incorporated experimental diets may modulate the hypocholesterolaemic and hypoglycaemic responses in Wistar rats. 1. Introduction Blossom of the banana plant (Musa acuminata Colla), by- product of banana cultivation, is ofen consumed as a veg- etable in many Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines [1]. In Sri Lanka, it is con- sumed as a curry as well as a boiled or deep fried salad with rice and wheat bread [2]. Banana blossoms have tremendous nutritional value and are rich source of dietary fbre and some biologically active compounds like vitamin C, tannin, myoinositol phosphates, and alpha tocopherol [3–5]. High levels of dietary fbre intake are associated with signifcantly lower prevalence rates for coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease [6–8]. However, average fbre intakes for children and adults are alarmingly less than that of the recommended level [9]. Food components with antioxidant properties may prevent cardiovascular diseases by inhibiting the oxidative damage to LDL-cholesterol [10]. Recently, polyphenols have been found to afect blood lipids in animals in a similar manner as soluble dietary fbre [11]. In another study, chloroform, water, and ethanol extract of another banana variety (Musa sapientum) fowers were found to exhibit hypoglycaemic activity in alloxan diabetic rat [12– 14]. Hemicellulose fraction of Musa sapientum showed high amounts of total polyphenols and total antioxidants [15], indicating that banana blossom is a rich source of dietary fbre associated with polyphenols, which could promote health benefts. As the dietary fbre consumption is alarmingly low, it is important to investigate the potential of underutilized vegetables as potent antioxidants and blood lipid lowering agents. Tough banana blossom has been in the Sri Lankan diet for years, no research has been done to investigate the health potential of banana blossoms as a fbre and antioxidant rich vegetable. Tus, the aim of this study was to investigate the banana blossom incorporated experimental diets on blood lipids and blood glucose level in rats fed cholesterol. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Cholesterol Volume 2016, Article ID 9747412, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9747412