Evaluation of the Anti – Obesity Effect of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Murraya Koenigii (Curry Leaf) on High Fat Diet Induced Obesity in Wistar Rat

Abstract

Obesity is a prevalent debilitating condition among individuals in both developed and developing nations. This investigation assessed the anti-obesity impact of ethanol extract of Murraya Koenigii (EEMC) on high fat diet obesity induced Wistar rats. Thirty (30) adult male Wistar rats with an average weight of 183g were divided into five experimental groups of six rats each Viz: Group A served as normal control and received standard animal feed. Group B was the control group and received high fat diet with no medications and treatment. Group C-D served as a treatment group administered with 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg of prepared EEMC respectively. While Group E received 150mg/kg of Xenical, which served as standard control. There was a statistically significant decrease (P<0.05) in the treatment and standard control groups (Groups C, D and E) and the decrease was in a dose-dependent manner. The total cholesterol (TC) increased in the normal and control group compared to other groups. There was a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the triglyceride (Tg) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of all treatment groups. Their decrease was in a dose-dependent manner and there was a statistically significant decrease (P<0.05) between the groups compared to the normal and control. Moreover, the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) had a significant inverse effect of the LDL-C as there was a significant increase (P<0.05) in HDL-C and the increase was more significant in the treatment groups (Groups C, D and E) respectively. The histopathology of the liver showed normal cellular architecture in the treatment group at the end of the experiment, thus posing no harmful effect. This investigation therefore suggests that EEMC has an anti-obesity property and elicited this through multiple mechanisms involving a decrease in body weight, body mass indices and alteration in lipid profile of obesity induced Wistar rats and could be used as a potential method of treating and managing patients with obesity disorder.