Isolation and Characterization of Contaminating Bacteria from Garcinia cambogia Extract: Methods to Reduce Microbial Load and Its Anti-Obesity Effect in Wistar Rats

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the contaminating bacteria in the extract of Garcinia cambogia, which is regularly used as a dietary supplement for addressing obesity in humans. Methods: The Garcinia cambogia extract was used and experiments were conducted to isolate the contaminating bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility was tested. The organism was identified using BIOLOG system. Such an extract was used in a placebo-controlled animal study when 6 eight adult male rats weighing between 200 and 220 g were randomly distributed into three groups (n = 3) and in test group 1, a single dose of 100 mg/kg bw of Garcinia cambogia extract was given while in the test group 2, 100 mg Garcinia cambogia extract + 116 mg Picrorhiza kurroa extract were administered through oral gavage. The normal control rats were given distilled water, and the treatment lasted for 30 days. Blood plasma and liver tissues were prepared for biochemical analysis and histology studies. Results: Nearly ~103 cfu/g of Bacillus atrophaeus was present in the Garcinia cambogia extract and we demonstrate >99% reduction in the microbial load with tetracycline. Such an extract at a dose of 100 mg/kg, showed weight loss in Wistar rats when administered orally for 1 month with no significant changes in liver histopathology. Picrorhiza kurroa, also known for its hepatoprotective properties, has been administered at a dose of 116 mg/kg along with Garcinia extract at 100 mg/kg orally and found to improve levels of hepatic enzymes as similar to control animals, although not statistically significant. Conclusions: The study revealed that Garcinia cambogia could prevent weight gain in Wistar rats when given orally and the weight gain in Garcinia-treated animals was almost 4 times less (7.31%), as against weight gain of 25.36% seen in vehicle control animals. The antibiotic susceptibility data indicated that the isolated bacterium is resistant to many antibiotics with a strong susceptibility to tetracycline.

西藏胡黄连与印度胡黄连的化学成分及药理作用研究进展

目前国内外学者已从玄参科植物西藏胡黄连和印度胡黄连中分离得到141个化合物,其中主要有环烯醚萜类化合物46个,四环三萜类化合物29个,苯丙素类化合物25个、苯乙醇苷类化合物11个,药理活性研究表明其具有保肝、保护心脑肾、抗肿瘤、抗炎、抗菌、抗哮喘、抗糖尿病、保护神经细胞、调节免疫、降血脂等作用。该文对西藏胡黄连和印度胡黄连的化学成分和药理活性进行了综述,以期为其深入研究和开发利用提供依据。

胡黄连葫芦烷型四环三萜类化合物及其生物活性的研究进展

胡黄连Picrorhizae Rhizoma为中医临床清虚热要药,目前一般认为其功效与环烯醚萜类、苯乙醇糖苷类和酚苷类化合物相关,而对于胡黄连所含葫芦烷型四环三萜类化合物及其生物活性关注较少。研究表明含有α,β-不饱和酮结构的葫芦烷型四环三萜属于迈克尔反应受体小分子,具有抗肿瘤等重要药理活性。对胡黄连中的葫芦烷型四环三萜类化合物进行综述,一方面比较了2种基原胡黄连所含葫芦烷型四环三萜类化合物的差异,另一方面对此类化合物的生物活性研究进行总结,为深入探索胡黄连功效的物质基础提供参考。