Efeitos da suplementação com castanha-do-brasil (bertholletia excelsa h.b.k.) sobre o perfil lipídico e o risco aterogênico em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main causes of death in Brazil, being the coronary arterial disease (CAD) a major cause of death and disability. The hyperlipidemia is considered an important cardiovascular risk factor, contributing to the oxidation of low density cholesterol (LDL-c), caused by the oxidative stress present in CAD. Several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effect of nuts consumption in CAD, by reducing total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c). Recent studies have demonstrated that Brazil nuts supplementation is able to improve the lipid profile in individuals with chronic non-communicable diseases. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of Brazil nut supplementation on the lipid profile and atherogenic risk in CAD patients. METHODOLOGY: Forty-two patients (63,4±7,2 years) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were studied. The patients were randomized in two groups: One group of patients received one nut daily (n=25) during three months, and the control group (n=17) did not receive any supplementation during three months. The diet analysis, anthropometric and biochemical measures, were determined before and after three months of supplementation, including the lipid profile, using Bioclin® kits, atherogenic risk, after calculating the Castelli I and II indexes and lipid peroxidation, estimated by determination of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. RESULTS: The supplementation with one Brazil nut promoted a significantly decreased in TC and LDL-c levels after three months supplementation (p=0.04; p=0.04, respectively) while the control group did not shown any changes in this parameters. Furthermore, the Brazil nut supplementation improved the atherogenic risk, calculated by the Castelli Index I (p=0.03) and the oxidative stress, by decreasing the lipid peroxidation (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the consumption of only one Brazil nut per day during three months was effective to reduce the TC, LDL-c, atherogenic risk and lipid peroxidation in CAD patients