In-vitro and invivo anti-obesity activity of woodss of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb

Abstract

Obesity is characterized by accumulation of triacylglycerol in adipocytes. Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat is accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. The symptoms of obesity have been increased very widely in the recent time period and still increasing. Pharmacological factor involved in obesity includes lipoprotein lipase having a central role in metabolism of both triglyceride rich particles and high-density lipoprotein. Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. (Fabaceae) commonly known as Bijasar /Vijaysar /Indian kino in important plant used traditionally for various medicinal purposes. Several chemical constituents like pterosupin, marsupin, pterostilbene, epicatechin, etc. have been isolated. The plant has various pharmacological activities like antifungal, analgesic, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, etc. The plant has been found to possess diverse number of biological activities. The P. marsupium tree has some medicinal property and is thus commercially exploitable. During the last five decades, apart from the chemistry of the P. marsupium compounds, considerable progress has been achieved regarding the biological activity and medicinal applications of P. marsupium. It is now considered as a valuable source of unique natural products for development of medicines against various diseases and also for the development of industrial products. The aim of the study was to compare the lipid lowering activity of Pterocarpus marsupium wood, a traditional Indian plant, with a standard pharmacological agent sibutramine, in the management of obesity. The trial was carried out with Sprague Drawly rats with 6 animals per group. Obesity was induced to each group except the normal control group for 30 days and treatment was given for 15 days. The change in the lipid profile was carried out to check the lipid lowering effect of P. marsupium compared to sibutramine the standard most widely recommended for obesity. Preliminary phytochemical screening yielded the aqueous extract concentration of 8.8% w/w while that of methanolic extract was 21.76% w/w and phenolics isolated was of 0.21% w/w. Further, the test showed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols and carbohydrates. The total phenolic content was 37.72 ± 0.14 mg and 46.02 ± 0.27 mg for aqueous and methanolic extract respectively. The total flavonoid contents were 32.91 ± 1.37 mg and 21.92 ± 1.26 mg for aqueous and methanolic extract respectively. In-vitro drug analysis was carried out to check the efficacy of dose required for lipase inhibitory activity with a standard pH stat technique recommended by Tietz et. al., (1989) with minor modifications. The data showed IC50 at 202.08 μg/ml for P. marsupium and 38.38 μg/ml for sibutramine. While the DPPH free radical scavenging activity for P. marsupium showed IC50 of 276.36 μg/ml and 447.58 μg/ml for aqueous and methanolic extract respectively. In-vivo study for the same were carried out and their relative food intake and body weight were measured during the course of study and prevailed that both were increasing when the obesity was induced and significantly (p<0.001) reduced with the 15 days of drug treatment. This prevailed that P. marsupium extracts had greater effect in food intake and body weight. Furthermore, the lipid profile was carried out that showed good level of significance (p<0.001) of P.marsupium for total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL levels. Thus, the drug proved to be significant in the lipid lowering effect relating to obesity. To conclude, the P. marsupium can be used as a potential herbal source for anti-obesity activity. In nutshell, P. marsupium can serve as potential herbal drug that is already explored for antidiabetic activity, has proved to be a potential anti-obesity activity.