Aqueous Extract of Kotahla Himbutu (Salacia reticulata) Stems Promotes Oxygen Comsumption and Supresses Body Fat Accumulation in Mice

Kothala himbutu (KT) is a traditional medicinal plant used in treating diabetes in Ayurvedic medicine. We investigated the effect of the aqueous extract of KT stems (KTE) on energy expenditure in normal mice. Male C57BL/6J mice (n = 28) were divided into 4 groups depending on the type of diet they were fed for 9 weeks: normal (N) diet group (N: 13.8% energy in the form of fat), high-fat (HF) diet group (HF: 53.0% energy in the form of fat), 0.1% freeze-dried KTE (KTED)-supplemented N diet group (N+KTED), and 0.1% KTED-supplemented HF diet group (HF+KTED). KTED intake significantly reduced body weight gain in mice in the N and HF groups. Although it did not affect the plasma levels of glucose, triglyceride, and nonesterified fatty acid, KTED significantly decreased the HF diet-induced increased plasma insulin level. The epididymal and perirenal white adipose tissue (WAT) weights were significantly lower in the HF+KTED group than in the HF group. The oxygen consumption (VO2), measured by indirect calorimetry, of the mice in the KTED-supplemented groups was significantly higher than that of the mice in the N and HF control groups. Moreover, KTED significantly reduced the size of epididymal WAT adipocytes in the N and HF groups. Thus, KTED promoted VO2 and suppressed WAT accumulation in the mice on the N and HF diets. Therefore, KTE is beneficial in reducing N diet- and HF diet-induced obesity, which may be partly attributable to the stimulation of whole body energy metabolism.