NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A recent study found health improvements in laboratory rats with metabolic syndrome that were fed diets high in sugar and cholesterol but included blue corn extract.
The rats who were fed the blue corn extract showed significant improvement in systolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels compared to rats who were not.
The natural antioxidants in blue corn may protect against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, according to researchers.
The results were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.
"Anti-obesity food materials are always in demand, and this study brings out not only the importance of blue maize in controlling adipocity, but also the potential role of cholesterol in the development of obesity," Sampath Parthasarathy, Ph.D., Florida Hospital Chair in cardiovascular sciences, interim associate dean, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medicinal Food, said in a press release.
