Potential effects of white and dark chocolate in ‎hyper cholesterolemic rats

          Hypercholesterolemia is a condition where the body has an un usually high level of fats in the blood. It is an important risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Approximately 18% of strokes and 56% of heart attacks are caused by high blood cholesterol. So, the aim of this study was the effects of dark chocolate and white chocolate on some biological, biochemical, and histological factors of hyper cholesterolemic rats. This research aimed to study the effects of white chocolate and dark chocolate on hyper cholesterolemic rats. Thirty-six adult male albino rats were distributed into two main groups. The first main group fed on a basal diet as a negative control group. The second main group was induced in by feeding a high-cholesterol diet [4% cholesterol (w/w) and 1% cholic acid (w/w)] for 8-weeks divided into five subgroups, the first subgroup fed on a basal diet as a positive control group. The other four subgroups were hyper cholesterolemic rats given dark chocolate at 5%, 10%, white chocolate at 5% and 10%, respectively, for 28 days. Results showed a significant decrease in most of lipid profile indices, liver function, antioxidants, and blood lipid indices. On the other hand, results showed a significant increase in some lipid profile indices, antioxidant and the hematological parameters (WBC, RBC, HGB, PLT) were counted.  Biochemical results supported by the histopathological examination for heart and liver.