Effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract on high fat diet-induced obesity and liver damage in hamsters
Sammanfattning
Background: Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with an increase in adipogenesis
and often accompanied with fatty liver disease.
Objective: In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa water extract
(HSE) in vivo.
Method: Eight-weeks-old male mice were divided into six groups (n=8 per group) and were fed either
normal feed, a high fat diet (HFD), HFD supplemented with different concentrations of HSE, or HFD
supplemented with anthocyanin. After 10 weeks of feeding, all the blood and livers were collected for
further analysis.
Results: Mesocricetus auratus hamster fed with a high-fat diet developed symptoms of obesity, as
determined from their body weight change and from their plasma lipid levels. Meanwhile, HSE
treatment reduced fat accumulation in the livers of hamsters fed with HFD in a concentration-dependent
manner. Administration of HSE reduced the levels of liver cholesterol and triglycerides, which were
elevated by HFD. Analysis of the effect of HSE on paraoxonase 1, an antioxidant liver enzyme,
revealed that HSE potentially regulates lipid peroxides and protects organs from oxidation-associated
damage. The markers of liver damage such as serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate
aminotransferase levels that were elevated by HFD were also reduced on HSE treatment. The effects of
HSE were as effective as treatment with anthocyanin; therefore the anthocyanins present in the HSE
may play a crucial role in the protection established against HFD-induced obesity.
Conclusions: In conclusion HSE administration constitutes an effective and viable treatment strategy
against the development and consequences of obesity.