Effect of Garcinia cambogia Administration on Female Reproductive Organs in Rats

Abstract

We investigated the effect of administering Garcinia cambogia (GA), which contains (−)-hydroxycitric acid ((−)-HCA), to female rats, focusing especially on changes in sexual hormones and its safety in terms of histopathological changes. A diet containing a high level of (−)-HCA (154 mmol/kg diet) was given to seven-week-old female rats with matched estrous cycles for two or four weeks. There were no significant differences in any of the serum hormones tested (follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol and progesterone) between the control group and the GA group during the observation period. Also, there were no abnormal morphological findings in the follicle and corpus luteum, nor were there any significant differences in the ovarian 4,4-dimethyl-5α-cholesta 8,14,24-triene-3β-ol (follicular fluid meiosis-activating sterol; FF-MAS) and 4,4-dimethyl-5α-cholesta-8,24-diene-3β-ol (testis meiosis-activating sterol; T-MAS) concentrations between the control and the GA groups. On the other hand, the final body weight of the GA group was statistically lower than that of the control group. The weight of abdominal fat in the GA group was markedly lower than that in the control group even after two weeks of feeding. Therefore, although we had confirmed in our previous study that GA had a marked effect on sexual maturation in male rats, no such deleterious influence was observed in the female rats.