Evaluation of Antilipidemic and Anti Obesity Efficacy of Bauhinia purpurea Bark Extract on Rats Fed with High Fat Diet

Methanolic extracts of Bauhinia purpurea (MEBP) were evaluated for their antilipidemic and antiobesity efficacy in high fat diet (HFD) induced male wistar albino obese rats. The body weight of HFD induced obese rats was reduced by 30 % when administered with sibutramine (standard antiobesity drug), while it was reduced by 24 % and 28 % respectively by 200 mg and 400 mg of MEBP/kg body weight. When HFD induced obese rats were administered with 200 mg/kg.b.w of MEBP, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) decreased considerably while the high density lipoproteins (HDL) increased. The alterations in these lipid profiles were more pronounced with 400 mg/kg.b.w of MEBP. The antilipidemic effect of MEBP was found to be more effective than Sibutramine.