Original Articles
Mary Shoba Das C and Gayathri
Abstract
Obesity is a common metabolic disorder and rapidly becoming a global public health problem in the 21st century. Millions of adults are diagnosed as obese each year. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia bellirica (EFTB) on Atherogenic Diet (AD) induced obesity in rats. Obesity was induced by oral feeding of AD for a period of 45 days. Experimental rats were divided into 4 groups (n=6): Group I: control rats, Group II: obesity control, Group III: obesity+500mg/kg body weight of ethanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia bellirica (EFTB) and Group IV: obesity+10mg/kg body weight of Sibutramine (standard drug). Body weight gain, feed and water intake, body temperature, BMI, atherogenic index (AI), organ weight and lipid profile were measured. Continuous administration of ethanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia bellirica at the dose of 500mg/kg had significant (p<0.05) effect on the parameters assessed similar to that of standard drug Sibutramine (10mg/kg). The results of the present study revealed that the ethanolic extract of fruits of Terminalia bellirica could be a useful intervention in the treatment of obesity. Further investigation is needed to identify the therapeutic potential and the exact mechanism of Terminalia bellirica for the treatment of obesity.