Effect of bulnesia sarmienti single and complex extracts on serum lipid and body fat in rats fed high-fat diet

This research examined whether feeding single extracts or complex extracts of Bulnesia sarmienti, together with a high fat diet, could improve serum hpid levels and reduce fat mass in rats. Test groups were fed the extracts, combined with a high fat diet, for eight weeks, and subdivided into seven groups: normal, control, and five treatment groups (BS: B. sarmienti extracts; BS-S: B. sarmienti and Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge extracts; BS-M: B. sarmienti and Morus alba Linne extracts; BS-SM1: B. sarmienti, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and Morus alba Linne extracts; and BS-SM2: BS-SM1 extracts at a 2-fold concentration). After feeding the test substance for 8 weeks, no significant differences were found for food intake, water intake, change in body weight, or food efficiency ratios (FER) among the groups. However, serum LDL-cholesterol had increased by 14.1% in the BS-S group. When compared with the control group, total cholesterol levels in the BS, BS-S, BS-M, BS-SM1, and BS-SM2 groups were reduced by 36.0, 14.5, 40.4, 17.5, and 22.5%, respectively, with the greatest change shown in the BS-M group. In terms of triglycerides, levels in BS, BS-S, BS-M, BS-SM1, and BS-SM2 had decreased by 41.9, 8.5, 62.3, 17.7, and 14.5%, respectively. Compared to the control group, the BS group showed a significant decrease in fat mass. In conclusion, the BS and BS-M groups showed significant effects with respect to improved serum lipid profiles and body fat mass when they were fed a high fat diet in combination with the respective extracts.