Weight Loss

Biography

Biography: Yusuf Ozturk

Abstract

Obesity is a complex metabolic disorder being related to important health consequences as a risk for serious chronic diseases. In our laboratories, we have been performing various experiments on the pharmacological effects of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L; SJW) including metabolic and endocrine actions in animals. It has an effect on the body weight upon its subacute use. Acute and subacute administrations of SJW extracts seem to increase the bile secretion both in healthy and CCl4-pretreated rats. Choleretic activity observed in our studies is important in the utilization of lipids. Other studies are in general agreement with our findings i.e., hypolipidaemic activity of SJW have been reported in fructose-fed rats. SJW has also beneficial effects on the carbohydrate metabolism. Our studies have shown that SJW extracts normalize hyperglycaemia in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. This observation has been confirmed by the other laboratories which report blood glucose lowering and and blood insulin normalizing actions of SJW. Accordingly, beneficial effects of SJW extracts on insulin resistance and lipid metabolic disorder have been reported in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Additionally, we have observed a protective effect of SJW on the liver which is the center of metabolism. The hepatoprotective and choleretic activities observed in our laboratories are prominent in hypericin-rich fractions of SWJ extracts. Finally, antioxidant and tissue regerating effects of SWJ extracts are supportive activites observed. All together, findings stronlgy suggest that SJW may be important to control body weight being used for the ethnomedical management of metabolic disorders for many years.