Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
Palatable Western-style Cafeteria Diet as a Reliable Method for Modeling Diet-induced Obesity in Rodents
Published on: November 1, 2019
Effect of Argyreia speciosa root extract on cafeteria diet-induced obesity in rats
Shiv Kumar1, K R Alagawadi, M Raghavendra Rao
1Department of Pharmacology, N.E.T. Pharmacy College, Navodaya Nagar, Raichur - 584 103, Karnataka, India.
Objectives:
To evaluate the antiobesity effects of the ethanolic extract of Argyreia speciosa roots in rats fed with a cafeteria diet (CD).
Materials And Methods:
Obesity was induced in albino rats by feeding them a CD daily for 42 days, in addition to a normal diet. Body weight and food intake was measured initially and then every week thereafter. On day 42, the serum biochemical parameters were estimated and the animals were sacrificed with an overdose of ether. The, liver and parametrial adipose tissues were removed and weighed immediately. The liver triglyceride content was estimated. The influence of the extract on the pancreatic lipase activity was also determined by measuring the rate of release of oleic acid from triolein.
Results:
The body weight at two-to-six weeks and the final parametrial adipose tissue weights were significantly lowered (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) in rats fed with the CD with Argyreia speciosa extract 500 mg/kg/day as compared to the CD alone. The extract also significantly reduced (P < 0.01) the serum contents of leptin, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides, which were elevated in rats fed with CD alone. In addition, the extract inhibited the induction of fatty liver with the accumulation of hepatic triglycerides. The extract also showed inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity by using triolein as a substrate.
Conclusions:
The ethanolic extract of Argyreia speciosa roots produces inhibitory effects on cafeteria diet-induced obesity in rats.
