Effect of a Homemade Fiber‐Rich Food and Polyherbal Formulation in High‐Fat Diet Induced Obese Rats
Authors: Kalpana Kalpan C. A. , Nandhinei M. 
Published: November 2023

Introduction

The treatment of obesity is difficult and challenging because of its obscure etiology. Consumption of a high‐fat diet is considered one of the major risk factors for the development of obesity. A direct link between high‐fiber diets and lower body weight has been shown in humans. Some medicinal herbs prove to have significant anti‐obesity and antioxidant effects.

Hypothesis

We hypothesize that the efficacy in consumption of a homemade formulated high‐fiber food is as good as commercially available polyherbal supplements in terms of weight reduction, economic and safety.

Methods

A homemade fiber‐rich food was formulated with Kodomillet(Paspalum scrobiculatum), sprouted Bengal gram (Cicer airenitum) and Drumstick leaves (Moringa oleifera) in the ratio of 70:25:5 and a commercially available weight reducing polyherbal formulation was obtained from Zigma Herbal Remedies. Thirty 3‐month‐old male Sprague– Dawley rats, weighing between 200 and 250g, were randomly segregated into five groups of six rats each. The animal experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines and approval of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. Four groups were fed with high‐fat diets consisting of 50% normal rat chow pellet, 24% corn oil, 20% full‐cream milk powder, and 6% sugar to induce obesity. The control rats were fed with normal rat chow for 4 weeks. These rats were used for subsequent 4 weeks of experimentation with homemade and commercially made polyherbal formulation. The treatment protocol included Group I as the normal control and received 10ml/Kg of normal saline. Group II served as high‐fat diet induced obese rats, and Group III served as the positive control and received Sibutramine (5mg/Kg) orally. Group IV, the obese rats received homemade food at a dose of 25mg/Kg twice a day daily. The Group V obese rats were fed with commercial polyherbal formulation at a dose of 25mg/Kg twice a day, daily. Plasma lipid profile, plasma leptin, insulin, glucose, liver function tests and histopathology were analyzed in biological samples after the experimentation period.

Results

The rats exposed to high‐fat diet for 4 weeks had a significant increase in body weights, thus, confirming the obese status. The supplementation of obese rats with homemade food and commercial polyherbal formulation caused a remarkable reduction of body weights, and adipocytes loss as indicated by reduced leptin and insulin levels. Moreover, the total cholesterol and LDL levels were significantly reduced, and an increased HDL level (>50%) observed in plasma when compared to the untreated obese control rats. The findings indicated that homemade food and polyherbal formulation play a role in the reversion of metabolic changes caused by high‐fat diet.

Conclusion

The present investigation proved that the homemade food and commercial polyherbal formulation have the ability to lower the lipid levels and increase the weight‐reducing ability in obesity‐induced rats. Though the homemade fiber‐rich food was nearly two percent less effective when compared to the commercial polyherbal formulation, the homemade food is much safer and more economical when treating obesity.

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