Evaluation of the appetite suppressing potential of aqueous extract of Cymbopogon citratus (Lemon grass) leaf using rat model

Abstract

Due to the increasing prevalence of obesity among children, adolescents and adults, it has been said to be a global health concern. Energy imbalance between calories consumption and expenditure has been identified as the major cause of obesity. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the appetite suppressing potential of aqueous leaf extract of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) in wistar rats. Freshly harvested leaf of C. citratus was dried at room temperature and afterwards processed into fine powder. 500 g of powdered plant sample was soaked in 3 L of distilled water for 24 hr and afterwards sieved and concentrated to dryness. The extract was reconstituted in distilled water to give the required doses of 150, 300, 600 mg/kg bw. Twenty adult male wistar rats were divided into four groups of five rats per group. Group I was the normal control and was only fed with normal rat feed and water. Groups II-IV were orally administered with 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg bw respectively. The result shows that the quantity of food consumed by the control group significantly (P