Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
dietary potential as a value-added prospect in food supplements (Marles et al.,
2013).
The aim of this article is to review the different health promoting effects
brought about by consumption of the pea
Pisum sativum
.
C
ARDIOMETABOLIC
R
ISK
P
REVENTION AND
I
NHIBITION
OF
A
THEROSCLEROSIS BY
D
IETARY
I
NCLUSION OF
P
EAS
Adams et al. ( 2006) furnished evidence for the anti-atherosclerotic action
of a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables in a LDL receptor -/-,
apolipoprotein B transgenic mouse model of atherosclerosis. The mice were
allocated randomly into 2 groups of about 50 animals each and provided with
the following diets for sixteen weeks: a group receiving a vegetable-free
control diet and another group given the same diet but with 30% (w:w)
substituted by an equal-parts mixture of freeze-dried peas, green beans,
carrots, corn, and broccoli. Aortic atherosclerosis, as assessed by cholesteryl
ester content, was lowered by 38% after feeding with the vegetable-rich diet.
Plasma levels of total cholesterol were reduced by 12%, VLDL-cholesterol
plus ILDL-cholesterol by 32%, and serum amyloid A by 37%, and the body
weight fell by 7%. Hence a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables suppresses
the development of atherosclerosis resulting in a diminution in the risk of
cadiovascular disease (Adams et al., 2006).
Bazzano et al. (2011) performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled
trials to assess how consumption of non-soy legumes affects blood lipids.
Studies were retrieved by searching EMBASE (from January 1980 to July
2009), MEDLINE (from January 1966 through July 2009), and the Cochrane
Collaboration's Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials utilizing as
medical subject headings and keywords: fabaceae not soybeans not
isoflavones and diet or dietary fiber and cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia or
triglycerides or cardiovascular diseases. Bibliographies of all retrieved papers
were also searched. Out of the 140 relevant reports, the ten randomized
clinical trials which were selected compared a non-soy legume diet with a
control diet, lasting for at least three weeks, and described alterations in blood
lipid levels during intervention and control. Data on study design, participants
characteristics, sample size, intervention methods, duration of treatment, and
results were independently processed by 2 investigators using a standardized
protocol. Data from ten trials representing 268 participants were studied using
