ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2021
Athrixia phylicoides tea infusion (bushman tea) improves adipokine balance, glucose homeostasis and lipid parameters in a diet-induced metabolic syndrome rat model.
Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- South African Herbal Teas and Diabetes-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Emerging Evidence and Mechanistic Insights.Journal of food science · 2026Review
- Natural polyphenols as novel interventions for aging and age-related diseases: Exploring efficacy, mechanisms of action and implications for future research.Chinese herbal medicines · 2025Review
- Exploring the Anti-obesity Effects of Specific Medicinal Herbs: Focus on Herbal Approaches and their Role in Gut Microbiota.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2025Review
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4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundCentral obesity and insulin resistance are associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) which is aggravated by diet and sedentary lifestyle. Athrixia phylicoides (AP) is reported by rural communities to have medicinal benefits associated with MetS such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of AP on diet-induced MetS in Wistar rats to validate its ethnopharmacological use.
methodsAP was profiled for phytochemicals by LC-MS. After induction of MetS with high energy diet (HED), 30 male rats were divided into five treatment groups (n = 6): normal diet control, HED control, HED + AP 50 mg/Kg BW, HED + AP 100 mg/Kg BW and HED + 50 mg/Kg BW metformin. The rats were treated daily for 8 weeks orally after which weight gain, visceral fat, total cholesterol, free fatty acids (FFAs) and adipokine regulation; leptin: adiponectin ratio (LAR) were assessed. Also, glucose homeostatic parameters including fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), glucose transporter 4 (GLUT 4), insulin and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined.
resultsFindings showed that AP was rich in polyphenols. The HED control group showed derangements of the selected blood parameters of MetS. AP reversed diet-induced weight gain by reducing visceral fat, total blood cholesterol and circulating FFAs (p ≤ 0.05). Treatment with AP improved adipokine regulation depicted by reduced LAR (p<0.05). Treatment with AP improved parameters of glucose homeostasis as demonstrated by reduced FBG and HOMA-IR (p ≤ 0.05) and increased GLUT 4 (p<0.05).
conclusionAthrixia phylicoides tea infusion was shown to possess anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties, improved glucose uptake and reduce insulin resistance in diet-induced MetS in rats which could be attributed to its richness in polyphenols. Therefore, AP could have potential benefits against type 2 diabetes and obesity which are components of MetS validating its ethnopharmacological use.
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