Objective:The aim of the present work is to investigate the potential of purple (Morus rubra [MR]) and white (Morus alba [MA]) berry supplementation to modulate body weight (BW) and metabolic deteriorations in obese Wistar male rats.Methods: Seventy rats weighing 150.00±10 g (mean±standard deviation) were used; the rats were randomly divided into seven groups of 10 rats each. Obesity was induced by feeding animals high-fat diet (HFD), for 6 consecutive weeks then treated with the purple (MR) and white (MA) berry ethanol extracts for 6 weeks in a dose 300 mg/Kg BW. BW gain, food intake fecal fat content, food consumptions were determined. The fats and organs such as liver, kidney, and heart were also weighed. Lipid profiles included triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as liverenzymes; alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GGT), and leptin were also determined.Results: Treatment of obese rats with white and purple berries showed significant reduction in BW reached to 23.68% with MR and 21.19% with MA berries compared to Orlistat (31.16%). Liver weight, visceral fat, and liver enzyme activities were also markedly ameliorated. In addition, lipid profile biomarkers were improved on treated obese rats with both Morus species. In addition, increase in fecal fat (250.73% and 256.25%, for MR and MA, respectively) was noticed while blood glucose, insulin, leptin levels, and pancreatic lipase activity was improved. In addition, supplementing obese rats with both Morus species extract significantly increase food intake reached 33.33% and 36.66%, for MR and MA, respectively.
Conclusion:The ameliorating effect of both Morus extracts may be attributed to polyphenolic rich compounds which have antioxidant properties, suppressed lipid synthesis in hepatic tissue and inhibited pancreatic lipase activity which consequently recommended using as a promising antiobesity agents.
El-Baz et al.different physiological biomarkers related metabolic changes including liver function enzyme activities, BW gain percentage, organ weight, food intake, visceral and fecal fats percentages, blood glucose, insulin, and leptin levels as well as pancreatic lipase activity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Collection of plant materialFresh fruits of white Morus alba (MA) and purple Morus rubra (MR) were collected in the Delta region, Egypt. The berries were selected according to uniformity of shape and color. The identification of the plant was confirmed by Therese Labib, Herbarium Section, El-Orman Botanical Garden, Giza, and Egypt. The fresh fruit samples were cleaned, stored in polyethylene bags and frozen at −20°C, till further use.