Slimaluma® Reduces Weight Gain, Clogged Arteries

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, IndiaCaralluma Fimbriata extract (as Slimaluma®, from Gencor Nutrients Inc.) was shown to reduce factors that lead to obesity and clog arteries, such as weight gain, fat mass and blood fat levels, in a study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism (2010. DOI:10.1155/2010/285301).

Researchers led by Soundararajan Kamalakkannan, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India used a Diet-Induced Obesity (DIO) rat model investigate the extracts anorexigenic effects. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: untreated control (C), control for cafeteria diet (CA), and cafeteria diet fed that were treated with the extract (CA + CFE). Rats in the untreated control group were fed standard pellet chow ad libitum, while rats in the CA and CA + CFE treatment groups received both pellet chow and cafeteria diet. C. fimbriata was administered by gavage at three doses (25, 50, 100 mg/Kg/body weight/d) for 90 days. The antiobesogenic effects of CFE were evaluated by monitoring changes in feed intake, body weight, serum lipid and hormonal (leptin) profiles, fat pads and liver weight. Antiatherosclerotic effects were measured by histology.

Slimaluma induced significant and dose-dependent inhibition of food intake, with dose-related prevention of gains in body weight, liver weight and fat pad mass. Concurrent administration of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/d of Slimaluma with CA reduced food intake considerably compared to both CA and pellet chow groups. The appetite-reducing effects of the lowest dose (25 mg/d) were apparent by the end of the seventh week, the intermediate dose (50 mg/kg/d) emerged by week four, and the effects of the highest dose (100 mg/kg/d) emerged were evident at the beginning of the third week.

Alterations in serum lipid profiles associated with weight gain were similarly inhibited, as were the typical increases in serum leptin levels. The C. fimbriata extract treatment also conferred protection against atherogenesis.