Effect of 75% Irvingia Gabonensis Flour on Anthropometric Parameters in Rats Rendered Obese by Crude Palm Oil
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Obesity is currently one of the major global public health issues. It is characterized by an excessive accumulation of body fat resulting from a prolonged imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Irvingia gabonensis is a non-timber forest product widely utilized in West and Central Africa for both food and medicinal purposes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementation with 75% Irvingia gabonensis flour on obesity induced by a diet enriched with 15% red palm oil in Wistar rats. Fifteen (15) rats were randomly assigned to three homogeneous experimental groups of five animals each. Two diets were formulated for the experiment: a standard diet, used to feed the control group; and an obesity-inducing diet, created by supplementing the standard diet with 15% crude palm oil. A second group (the obese control group) received this latter diet. Finally, a third group received a diet consisting of 25% of the obesity-inducing diet and 75% Irvingia gabonensis flour; this constituted the treated group. Body weight in the rats of Groups 1 and 2 increased significantly during the obesity induction phase (week 3) compared to the control group. However, the body weight of the rats in Group 2 (LIg75%) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) starting from the fourth week following the introduction of the 75% Irvingia gabonensis flour into the diet. Food intake among rats in Group 2 (LIg75%) during the treatment weeks did not differ significantly from that of the control group and Group 1. The quantity of feces produced by rats in Group 2 was higher than that of Group 1. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) for Group 2 (LIg75%) gradually normalized over the course of the treatment weeks. Protein efficiency (PE) followed the same trend, showing a gradual recovery in Group 2 during weeks 4 and 5. In conclusion, the diet consisting of 75% Irvingia gabonensis flour and 25% high-fat diet (15% crude palm oil added to the standard diet) exerts significant biological and metabolic effects
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7223574564