Antiobesity activity of Zingiber officinale

Context: Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae) rhizome, known commonly as ginger is extensively used in Indian traditional system of medicine for treatment of various disorders. The ethanolic Z. officinale 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 Z. officinale 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 Z. officinale extract (20 mg/kg b.w.) 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 Z. officinale 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 Conclusion: These results show that aqueous Z. officinale extract possess significant anti-obesity potential.