www.ijbcp.com International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | July-August 2016 | Vol 5 | Issue 4 Page 1263 IJBCP International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology Print ISSN: 2319-2003 | Online ISSN: 2279-0780 Research Article Antiobesity activity of Moringa oleifera leaves against high fat diet-induced obesity in rats Shamsun Nahar 1 *, Ferdous Mahmud Faisal 2 , Jalaluddin Iqbal 3 , Md. Mizanur Rahman 4 , Md. Abdullah Yusuf 5 INTRODUCTION Nowadays Obesity has emerged as a major health problem and risk factor for various disorders worldwide. 1 According to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, obesity is defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m 2 or greater. A BMI above the healthy range of 18-25 kg/m 2 is common in Western cultures and has been linked to both consumption of a Western diet (i.e. high ABSTRACT Background: Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat is accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. The current study was constructed to evaluate the efficacy of Moringa oleifera leaf powder in management of obesity induced by high cholesterol diet in rats. Methods: It was an animal (experimental) study and was carried out in the department of pharmacology and therapeutics at Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka in collaboration with Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Dhaka from January 2009 to December 2009 for a period of one year. 24 Adult male long Evans rats were taken as experimental animal and were grouped as group A and group B. Group A consists of 6 rats (lean control) treated with normal diet without any drugs for 49 days. Group B were treated with high fat diet for 14 days then divided into three groups B1, B2 and B3. Group B1 (obese control) received high fat diet without any drugs for 49 days. Group B2 rats were treated with Moringa Oleifera leaf powder in single dosage of 50 mg/day/ rat orally for 35 days with high fat diet. Group B3 rats were treated with Moringa Oleifera leaf powder in b.d dosage of 50 mg/day/rat orally for 35 days with high fat diet. These animals were assigned as Moringa Oleifera treatment group. Results: The results revealed chronic administration of high fat diet in rats led to an increase in body weight that is in group B1 significant increase in thoracic (TC) and abdominal (AC) circumferences as well as body mass index (BMI) in obese group. On the other side, in group B2 treatment with Moringa oleifera leaf powder in single dose reduce food intake and BMI in obese groups. Group B3 treatment with Moringa oleifera leaf powder in b.d. dose resulted in significant decrease in BMI compared to obese control group. Conclusions: The data of the current study provides experimental evidence for the anti-obesity effect of Moringa oleifera ethanol extract. Thus, present findings reinforce the advice recommending consumption of Moringa oleifera to modulate obesity. Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Obesity, Rats, HFD DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20162427 1 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Monno Medical College, Manikgonj, Bangladesh 2 Department of Urology, National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh 3 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh 4 Principal, Monno Medical College, Manikgonj, Bangladesh 5 Department of Microbiology, National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh Received: 26 May 2016 Accepted: 01 July 2016 *Correspondence to: Dr. Shamsun Nahar, Email: shamsunpharma1stdec @yahoo.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.