Brown algae and barley-based anti-obesity food and its safety in C57BL6 mice.

Brown algae have been considered a potential
source of bioactives and used as a dietary supplement to
manage obesity and its associated health complications.
However, its effective use is limited due to heavy metals
and microbial contamination, unawareness of health ben�efits and limited dietary exploitation. We developed, the
Indian brown algae Padina tetrastromatica and barley�based anti-obesity food (AOF) and examined for microbial
and heavy metal safety. Additionally, acute [0 (control),
50, 100, 200, 500 g AOF/kg diet] and sub-acute [0, 5, 50 g
AOF/kg diet] doses of AOF were fed to C57BL6 mice and
toxicity was examined. The physical, locomotory, hema�tological, biochemical parameters and histopathology were
examined. Postprandial plasma and tissue levels of
fucoxanthin and its metabolites were analyzed. Feeding
AOF did not affect the general behavior, food and water
intake, growth or survival of animals. Biochemical indices
did not show any differences between AOF-fed and control
groups. However, significantly lower levels of plasma
cholesterol and triglycerides in groups fed 5 and 50 g of
AOF/kg diet were observed. The post-mortem examination
revealed no macroscopic/microscopic alteration in the vital
organs. Overall, results validate that AOF is a safe and
effective dietary supplement (even at higher doses of 500 g
AOF/kg) to mitigate obesity.