Evaluation of the Anti-Obesity and Metabolic-Modulating Effects of Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) Powder in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Experimental Rats

Abstract

Background: Obesity is associated with metabolic disturbances that may adversely affect lipid and glucose homeostasis and multiple organs. This study evaluated the effects of whole dried baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit powder on metabolic, biochemical, and cardiac histopathological parameters in rats with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity.
Methods: Male rats with HFD-induced obesity were allocated to experimental groups receiving dietary supplementation with whole dried baobab fruit powder at 5% or 7% for 28 days. Body-weight gain, serum lipid profile, blood glucose, amylase activity, liver-related biomarkers, renal and hepatobiliary biomarkers, and cardiac histopathology were assessed and compared with untreated control groups.
Results: Baobab supplementation was associated with reduced body-weight gain, with decreases of approximately 10.9% and 26.1% in the 5% and 7% groups, respectively, relative to the obese control group. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL-C were reduced by approximately 26.9%, 24.3%, and 41.3%, respectively, in the 5% group and by 39.3%, 36.0%, and 67.1% in the 7% group. HDL-C increased from 25.1 mg/dL in the obese control group to 36.5 and 43.8 mg/dL, respectively. Blood glucose and serum amylase were also reduced, particularly at 7%. Favorable changes were observed in ALT, AST, ALP, urea, creatinine, and uric acid, accompanied by improved cardiac histopathological appearance.
Conclusion: Dietary supplementation with whole dried baobab fruit powder was associated with improvements in several metabolic and biochemical abnormalities and with favorable cardiac histopathological changes in HFD-induced obese rats. These findings support the potential of baobab fruit powder as a functional dietary component for mitigating obesity-associated metabolic disturbances. Further studies incorporating longer interventions and mechanistic biomarkers are warranted.