The prevalence of obesity is associated with many health-related problems. Currently, more than 300 million people are considered to be obese. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, 87 and 439 million people will be affected in India and the world, respectively. Today, herbal medicines are gaining interest in the treatment of obesity and diabetes, because of their minimal side effects. Gymnemic acid - an active component isolated from Gymnema sylvestre - has anti-obesity and antidiabetic properties, decreases body weight and also inhibits glucose absorption. Several components extracted from Gymnema prevent the accumulation of triglycerides in muscle and liver, and also decrease fatty acid accumulation in the circulation. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the effects of various extracts from Gymnema sylvestre in the regulation of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in both animal and clinical studies.

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The effect of dietary supplementation of milk fermented with indigenous probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum (LP625) alone and in combination with herbs (Aloe vera and Gymnema sylvestre) was investigated on high fat diet (HFD, 60 kcal% fat) fed mice for 12 weeks. Administration of LP625 alone or in combination with both herbs lowered the final body weight, however, a significant difference was observed with LP625 supplemented Gymnema sylvestre only as compared to the HFD fed group (25.06±0.18 vs 27.29±0.72 g, P<0.05). Similarly, the epididymal fat mass, fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels were significantly (P<0.05) decreased by all treatment groups. In addition, a protective effect against the rise in serum and liver triglycerides, and in liver total cholesterol levels was found with the consumption of LP625 alone or in combination with herbs. Furthermore, the HFD fed mice showed a remarkable increase in the epididymal fat cell size, whereas administration of LP625 alone or in combination with herbs exhibited a significant decrease in the size. Finally, a significant increase in the relative mRNA expression of thermogenic proteins, i.e. uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2, 1.16±0.25 fold change, P<0.05) and a decrease in pro-inflammatory markers, such as tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 (1.55±0.18 and 3.10±0.58 fold change, respectively, P<0.05) were due to LP625 supplementation in the HFD fed group. This shows that LP625 alone or supplemented with herbs seems to protect against diet induced obesity by decreasing the body and epididymal fat weight through upregulation of UCP-2 expression and reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Obesity has become a major health problem in developed countries and is rapidly catching up in the developing world due to changes in their life style. Dietary incorporation of functional foods, including probiotic fermented milk and herbal ingredients, is being tried to ameliorate metabolic disorders. In the present study, the effect of dietary supplementation of a probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus NCDC 17) fermented milk alone or either of the herbal preparations (Aloe vera/Gymnema sylvestre powders, 1% w/w) on the progression of obesity has been studied in C57BL/6J mice fed with a high fat diet for 12 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, oral administration of L. rhamnosus and herbs resulted in a significant decrease in the body weight, epididymal fat mass, fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels. Supplementation of the probiotic L. rhamnosus alone and in combination with herbs showed a significant decrease in the adipocyte cell size and an increase in the number. Finally, obesity related adipokines levels were maintained at normal by the treatment groups. Thus, dietary intervention of milk fermented with probiotic L. rhamnosus alone or in combination with any of the herbal preparations seems to show anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties.

Background:This study was planned to investigate the effectiveness of the whey protein isolate (WPI) of high purity and a galactooligosaccharides (GOS) preparation on glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance in high fat diet (HFD) (45.47% energy from fat) fed conditions in C57BL/6J mice.Methods:Fasting blood glucose level, serum insulin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were measured; also, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was determined in different treatment groups. mRNA expression of gluconeogenesis genes in liver and small intestine tissues was analyzed by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction.Results:Dietary incorporation of WPI and GOS was observed to significantly resist (P < 0.001) the HFD-induced increase in blood glucose levels indicating a mitigating effect on glycemic load. It is important to note that no additive effects of administration of WPI and GOS could be observed. The administration of WPI and GOS exhibited maximum resistance (37.8%) to the rise in insulin level. Thus, the resistance to the increase in HOMA-IR was also noticed on the dietary incorporation of two functional ingredients . The positive effects on mRNA expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose 6-phosphatase could be detected in liver only.Conclusion:Both types of functional components exhibit potential to improve glucose homeostasis under HFD fed conditions. Resistance to HFD-induced hyperinsulinemia and HOMA-IR is also recorded .