Emblica officinalis - Anti-obesity activity.

Context Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (family-Phyllanthaceae) fruits, known commonly as amla, is extensively used in Indian traditional system of medicine for the treatment of various disorders. The ethanolic E. officinalis extract is reported to have various activity such as antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity in experimental animals. Objective To evaluate anti-obesity effect of aqueous E. officinalis extract in murine model of high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Materials and methods Male Wistar rats fed with HFD (20 g/day/rat, p.o) for a period of 42 days were used to induce obesity. Aqueous E. officinalis extract (20 mg/kg bw) administered orally to HFD-fed rats from day 8 to 50 days for a period of 42 days. Body weight gain, serum lipids, insulin and leptin parameters were measured. Results Oral feeding of the aqueous E. officinalis extract (20 mg/kg) to HFD-induced obese rats for a period of 42 days resulted in significant reduction in body weight gain, insulin, leptin, lipids as compared to rats fed HFD alone. Further, the extract also showed significant increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels. Discussion and conclusions These results show that aqueous E. officinalis extract possess significant anti-obesity potential.