Effects of stem bark aqueous extract of Fagara tessmannii Engl (Rutaceae) on cardiovascular risks related to monosodium glutamate-induced obesity in rat: In vivo and in vitro assessments

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 260; p. 112972
• Main Authors: Fouda, Yannick Bekono, Ngo Lemba Tom, Esther, Atsamo, Albert Donatien, Bonabe, Christian, Dimo, Théophile
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 05-10-2020
• Subjects: Adiposity - drug effects; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Anti-Obesity Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Obesity Agents - pharmacology; Arterial Pressure - drug effects; Biomarkers - blood; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular diseases; Disease Models, Animal; F. tessmannii; Female; Hemodynamics - drug effects; Hypertension - etiology; Hypertension - physiopathology; Hypertension - prevention & control; Insulin Resistance; Male; Monosodium glutamate; Obesity; Obesity - blood; Obesity - chemically induced; Obesity - drug therapy; Obesity - physiopathology; Plant Bark - chemistry; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Stems - chemistry; Rats, Wistar; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Sodium Glutamate; Vascular dysfunction; Vasoconstriction - drug effects; Weight Loss - drug effects; Zanthoxylum - chemistry; Obesity; Insulin resistance; Vascular dysfunction; Monosodium glutamate; Cardiovascular diseases; F. tessmannii
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112972

Fagara tessmannii is a shrub of the African rainforests in South-West, Centre, South and East provinces in Cameroon. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of tumors, swellings, inflammation, gonorrhoea, schistosomiasis, antifungal, heart diseases and as anti-hypertensive.
We investigated the potential effects of F. tessmannii on cardiovascular risk related to monosodium glutamate-induced obesity.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG, 4 mg/g/day) was injected subcutaneously to newborn Wistar rats for the four consecutive first days of their life and on the 6th, 8th and 10th day after birth. After 21 weeks, obese rats were treated orally with F. tessmannii (100 or 200 mg/kg/day), orlistat (10 mg/kg/day) or telmisartan (10 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks. Body weight, obesity, body mass index (BMI), Lee index, insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, blood pressure, lipid profile as a Coronary Risk Index (CRI), and reactivity of isolated thoracic aorta were evaluated.
In addition to significantly decrease body weight (17.60% and 20.34%), BMI, Lee's index, retroperitoneal fat, total adiposity, and coronary risk indicators, F. tessmannii has significantly decreased insulin resistance and hyperglycemia and high blood pressure observed in MSG-obese rats. The high contractility to phenylephrine as well as the hypersensitivity to sodium nitroprusside (a nitric oxide-donor), observed in MSG aortic rings were significantly reduced by the F. tessmannii extract. Enhanced serum Na+ and Cl- levels and decreased K+ observed in obese rats were also significantly reversed after F. tessmannii treatment.
F. tessmannii fights against obesity and associated cardiovascular risks by modulating production and vascular responsiveness to vasoactive factors, monitoring premature aging. F. tessmannii promotes the loss of ectopic fat and other fatty tissues, the sensitivity of the peripherical tissues to insulin, the energy expenditure and the renovascular decompression and regulates ions movement which prevents hypertension.
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