Abstract
Sudan III dye is routinely used with palm oil, the most popular culinary oil in Nigeria. This research focused on the toxicity of Sudan III on the liver, lipid profile (cholesterol) levels, and looked for any weight changes in the treated animals before and after treatment with Sudan III dye, which is frequently used by marketers to adulterate palm oil so as to maximize profit. The crude palm oil used was self-adulterated with the Sudan III dye to yield concentrations of 10, 30, and 50 mg/kg. Thirty male albino rats were split into five groups according to their weight, and treated as: group 1 which served as the control, group 2 which received 0.1 mL of unadulterated palm oil orally, and groups 3, 4, and 5 which received 0.1 mL of 10, 30, and 50 mg/kg of adulterated palm oil respectively for fourteen days. Their body weights were measured on days 0, 7 and 14. The animals were sacrificed after fourteen days, and samples of their blood and liver were taken for biochemical and histopathology analysis. Total cholesterol levels were measured in order to evaluate lipid profiles. After treatment, the treated animals did not show signs of weight gain. The histology findings showed no evidence of obvious liver damage. Rats given both high and low concentrations of Sudan III had significantly higher serum cholesterol levels (P < 0.05) than the control group, indicating a risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, the use of Sudan III adulterated palm oil should be abhorred.
Keywords: Sudan III dye, Palm oil, Adulteration, Serum total cholesterol levels, Histology, Cardiovascular risk.
