Effect of Feeding Chitosan, Hibiscus Extract and L-Carnitine Mixture on Body Weight and Lipid Metabolism in Rats

This study was peformed to investigate effect of feeding experimental mixture containing chitosan, hibiscus extract and L-carnitine on body weight and lipid metabolism in rats. Forty-eight male rats(Charles River CD) of eight weeks old and weighing $336.5{\pm}2.3g$ were raised for five weeks with high fat diet(40% fat as calorie) to induce obesity. After induction of obesity, rats weighing $560.4{\pm}5.6g$ were blocked into four groups according to body weight and raised for eight weeks with diet containing either 0.09%(+1D group), 0.9%(+10D group) or 4.5%(+50D group) of experimental mixture. Aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and alanine aminotransferase(ALT), total protein and albumin were normal levels in plasma. Body weight gain and epididymal fat pad weight were lower in experimental mixture groups than control group However, weights of perirenal fat pad and brown adipose tissue were not significantly different among all groups. There was no significant difference in plasma and hepatic lipid levels among all groups. Liver citrate lyase and camitine acyltransferase activities were not significantly different among all groups, however, citrate lyase activity was tended to be decreased with increasing experimental mixture level in diet. Fecal total lipid and total cholesterol excretions were highest in +50D group, and triglyceride excretion was highest in +1D group. in conclusion, intake of experimental mixture containing chitosan, hibiscus extract and L-camitine was effective in reducing body weight and body fat, and its inhibitory effects might lead to obesity improvement.

키토산, 히비스커스 추출물 및 L-카르니틴 함유 식이가 흰쥐의 체중과 지질대사에 미치는 영향