ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate anti-obesity effect of aqueous P. nigrum extract in a murine model of high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity. Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) (20g/day/rat) for a period of 50 d to induce obesity. Aqueous P. nigrum extract (20 mg/kg) administered orally to high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats from 8th day to 50th day (total 42 d). The parameters like gain in body weight, serum lipids, insulin and leptin were measured. Results: The rats treated with extract showed a significant reduction in body weight gain, serum insulin, leptin, lipids as compared to rats fed with only a high-fat diet (HFD). In addition, the extract-treated group showed a considerable rise in high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) level (29.61±7.68 mg/dl) as compared to the control group (23.23±9.69 mg/dl). Conclusion: The results indicate that aqueous P. nigrum extract possess the potential to reduce obesity markers in a high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats.