Wednesday May 28, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A Korean study in the journal Molecules suggests taking a herbal supplement  called HT048 may help weight loss or prevent obesity in people who eat a high fat diet.

The herbal supplement is made of Crataegus pinnatifida fruit and Citrus unshiu peel extracts and its anti-obesity activity was found in obese rats on a high fat diet.

For the study, 4-Week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were fed either normal or high fat diet.  The high fat diet eaters were treated in five ways, drinking distilled water, taking 40 mg per kg twice daily, HT048 in a dose of 30, 100 or 300 mg per kg, twice a day for 12 weeks.

Rats treated with HT048 in a dose of 100 and 300 mg/kg had significantly lower body weight, epididymal adipose tissue and liver weight than those fed on high fat diet only.

In the dose of 100 and 300 mg per kg, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine transaminase, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were significantly decreased. 

Similarly, the orlistat treated rats too significantly reduced body weight and improved serum lipoprotein, compared with the high fat diet controls. 

The researchers concluded "These results show that HT048 supplements improved obesity-related body weight and serum lipoprotein parameters in a HFD-induced obese rat model."  (David Liu, PHD)

Reference

Dong Wook Lim, MiKyung Song, Juyeon Park, Sang Woug Park, Nak Hoon Kim, Bhakta Prasad Gaire, Ho-Young Choi and Hocheol Kim, Anti-obesity Effect of HT048, a Herbal Combination, in High Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats, Molecules 2012, 17(12), 14765-14777;