Introduction: Obesity leads to derangements in lipid and glucose homeostasis resulting in various metabolic complications. Plants containing vital phytochemicals are known to posses anti obesity properties and have proved to exert beneficial effects in obesity.
Objectives: The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of Garcinia Cambogia on body weight, glucose tolerance and inflammation in high fat diet fed male Wistar rats.
Materials and methods: Five month old male wistar rats (n=40) were divided into four groups. Two groups were fed with standard rodent diet and the remaining two with 30% high fat diet. One group in each of the two sets received the crude ethanolic extract of Garcinia Cambogia at a dose of 400mg/kg body weight/day for ten weeks. Body weight, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, leptin, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and renal function (urea, creatinine, uric acid) were studied.
Results: High fat diet fed rats showed increased body weight gain, glucose intolerance, elevated levels of plasma leptin and TNF-α. Supplementation of Garcinia Cambogia extract (GE) along with high fat diet significantly decreased body weight gain, glucose intolerance, plasma leptin and TNF-α level. No significant changes were observed in the renal function parameters in any of the groups.
Conclusion: Supplementation of the Garcinia Cambogia extract with high fat diet reduced body weight gain, inflammation and glucose intolerance.
Keywords: Hydroxycitric acid; Leptin; Obesity; TNF- α.