Anti‐obesity and hypolipidemic effects of water and ethanolic extracts of Liu Wei Di Huang ( LWDH) in rats fed a high‐fat diet

Liu Wei Di Huang (LWDH), a well‐known traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to exert an anti‐obesity and hypolipidemic effect in obese‐prone rats fed a high‐fat diet. However, the active components responsible for these effects are unclear. In the present study, we prepared water extract (WE) and ethanol extract (EE) from LWDH and further explored their effects on obesity and the underlying mechansims. Male obese prone CD rats were divided into six groups (n = 12/group), the control group was provided with a hig‐fat control diet (HFC) and the other five groups were fed the high fat diet supplemented with 600mg/kg/day of WE (600WE), 1200mg/Kg/day of WE (1200WE), 350mg/Kg/day of EE (350EE), and 700mg/Kg/day of EE (700EE), respectively. The WE and EE were given once a day by oral gavage by dissolving them in water. After 8 weeks, body weight, feed intake, and relative weights of epididymal and perirenal adipose tissues were significantly lower in 1200WE and 700EE groups than the HFC. The energy expenditure was significantly higher in 1200WE and 700EE. The 1200WE, 700EE, and 1200WE+700EE shown improved lipid profile by lowering serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, compared with the HFC group. Conclusion The results suggest that both water and ethanol extracts have a significant anti‐obese activity that is attributable to its hypophagic, increased energy expenditure and hypolipidemic effect in rats fed a high fat diet. Further studies are undertaken to look into the molecular mode of action of these two extracts on energy metabolism.