Abstract

Obesity is associated with metabolic disturbances, including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and leptin dysregulation. Natural compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are being explored as potential alternatives to pharmacological agents. The present work investigated the preventive and attenuating effects of ethanolic extracts of Phyllanthus acidus (PA) and Zingiber aromaticum (ZA) against metabolic disturbances in a high-fat high-fructose (HFHF) diet-induced obesity model. Rats were divided into groups and given either a normal diet, HFHF diet, or HFHF diet combined with orlistat, PA, or ZA for 12 weeks. Key metabolic parameters were evaluated. The HFHF diet significantly increased BMI, adiposity index, triglycerides, cholesterol, fasting glucose, insulin, Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), leptin, and malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with the standard diet. Orlistat reduced leptin and oxidative stress, but had a limited impact on glucose-insulin indices. In contrast, ZA extract attenuated leptin and MDA elevation, with moderate improvements. The ethanolic PA extract consistently demonstrated the most comprehensive effects, attenuating HFHF-induced elevations in fasting glucose, reducing hyperinsulinemia and HOMA-IR, improving lipid profiles, and lowering leptin and MDA to levels comparable with the normal diet and orlistat groups. These findings indicate that the ethanolic PA extract exerts more comprehensive metabolic, hormonal, and oxidative stress-modulating effects than ZA, and shows efficacy comparable to orlistat in several outcomes.

Key words: Phyllanthus acidus; Zingiber aromaticum; high-fat high-fructose diet; insulin resistance; leptin; antioxidant