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Weight and lipid‐lowering effects and safety of a herbal formulation in a rat model of obesity
Author(s) -
Perry Benjamin Thomas,
Wang Yanwen,
Zhang Junzeng
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.733.13
Subject(s) - obesity , overweight , medicine , anti obesity , lipid profile , adverse effect , body weight , weight loss , physiology , endocrinology , food science , cholesterol , chemistry
Both overweight and obesity increase the risk of developing several serious chronic diseases, as well as lipid‐related conditions, such as hypercholesterolemia. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of a proprietary herbal formulation on body weight, food intake, plasma lipids and liver enzymes, and body fat content and distribution in a rat model of obesity. In this study, we used obese‐resistant (OR) and obeseprone (OP) rats, which were housed individually in cages. All rats were fed a high‐fat (60% energy from fat) diet for 9 weeks. The OR rats were used as a normal control group and one group of OP rats was used as an obesity control. An additional three OP groups were challenged with different dose levels of the herbal formulation. The results demonstrated that the formulation was able to lower body weight, absolute body fat, and triacylglycerides. The results also revealed that the product reduced food intake. There are a growing number of available weight loss products on the marketplace but many exhibit adverse side effects. These side effects can be assessed by measuring the concentration of liver enzymes in the serum. In the present study, the formulation administered did not exhibit any liver toxicity at any of the dose levels. In conclusion, the formulation appears to warrant further examination for possible development as a natural product for weight control and lipid management. Grant Funding Source : CIHR