Quercetin impact against psychological disturbances induced by fat rich diet

Obesity is a metabolic disease which promotes by consuming fat rich diet. The consequences may include leptin resistant and initiation of metabolic syndromes. Beside the fact, obesity has psychological impacts it act as a signal of depression by stimulating endogenous stress stimulation. Quercetin is a natural polyphenol, considered as nutraceutical agent which produce antioxidant effects. It is reported to promote energy expenditure and protective mechanism against obesity. This presented work was designed to observe the effects of quercetin on high fat diet treated obese animals with impaired psychological behavior. The study comprised on 36 animals, divided in to different groups as follow: I Normal Diet and II. High fat diet. After the induction of obesity both groups divided in to further three subgroups as control, Quercetin and sertraline. Food intake and body weight along with behavioral analysis for four weeks were done for the assessment of anti-obesity and antidepressant effects of quercetin. The results showed the effective treatment of quercetin in obese animals, it significantly reduced the food intake and body weight of animals. The behavioral test showed the increased locomotor activity in the activity box and improved psychological behavior in quercetin-treated rats in the open field and light-dark box. It is concluded from the present study that quercetin exhibits the ameliorative effects against obesity and associated neuroendocrine alterations.