Anti-Obesity and Anti-Dyslipidemic Effects of Salicornia arabica Decocted Extract in Tunisian Psammomys obesus Fed a High-Calorie Diet

Souhaieb Chrigui; Sameh Hadj Taieb; Hedya Jemai; Sihem Mbarek; Maha Benlarbi; Monssef Feki; Zohra Haouas; Ayachi Zemmel; Rafika Ben Chaouacha-Chekir; Nourhène Boudhrioua

doi:10.3390/foods12061185

Anti-Obesity and Anti-Dyslipidemic Effects of Salicornia arabica Decocted Extract in Tunisian Psammomys obesus Fed a High-Calorie Diet

Foods. 2023 Mar 11;12(6):1185. doi: 10.3390/foods12061185.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratoire de Physiopathologie, Alimentation et Biomolécules, LR17ES03, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Sidi Thabet, Université de la Manouba, Ariana 2020, Tunisia.
² Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry, Rabta Hospital, LR99ES11, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, La Rabta, Tunis 1007, Tunisia.
³ Institute for Biomedical and Bioscience Research, the Clore Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Buckingham, Hunter Street, Buckingham MK18 1EG, UK.
⁴ Laboratory of Histology and Cytogenetic LR18ES40, Faculty of Medicine of Monastir, University of Monastir, Av. Avicenne, Monastir 5000, Tunisia.
⁵ Herbes de Tunisie, El Mansoura Kesra, Siliana 6131, Tunisia.

Abstract

Salicornia is a halophyte plant that has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of scurvy, goiter, and hypertension. It is commercialized in Europe and Asia as fresh salads, pickled vegetables, green salt, or tea powder. This work is the first to assess the potential anti-obesity and anti-dyslipidemic effects of Salicornia arabica decocted extract (SADE). SADE was characterized by its significant in vitro radical scavenging activity (using DPPH and ABTS assays). The effect of SADE on food intake, weight loss, serum biochemical parameters, liver and kidney weights, adiposity index and on liver histology was investigated in the Tunisian gerbil Psammomys obesus (P. obesus), which is recognized as a relevant animal model of human obesity and diabetes. P. obesus animals were firstly randomly divided into two groups: the first received a natural low-calorie chow diet (LCD), and the second group received a high-calorie diet (HCD) over 12 weeks. On day 90, animals were divided into four groups receiving or not receiving SADE (LCD, LCD + SADE, HCD, and HCD + SADE). If compared to the HCD group, SADE oral administration (300 mg/kg per day during 4 weeks) in HCD + SADE group showed on day 120 a significant decrease in body weight (-34%), blood glucose (-47.85%), serum levels of total cholesterol (-54.92%), LDL cholesterol (-60%), triglycerides (-48.03%), and of the levels of hepatic enzymes: ASAT (-66.28%) and ALAT (-31.87%). Oral administration of SADE restored the relative liver weight and adiposity index and significantly limited HCD-induced hepatic injury in P. obesus. SADE seems to have promising in vivo anti-obesity and anti-dyslipidemic effects.

Keywords: Psammomys obesus; Salicornia arabica decocted extract; antioxidant; dyslipidemia; high-calorie diet; obesity.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) through the MOBIDOC scheme, PromESsE project, Reference Number 417 and EU program, Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area, PRIMA. ARTISANEFOOD Project, Grant number PRIMA-S2-2018-PCI2019-103453 and Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHERS). The APC were funded by PRIMA-S2-2018-PCI2019-103453.