Abstract
The cashew apple is an unvalued by-product from the cashew nut industry, of which millions of tonnes are simply discarded globally. Interestingly, however, cashew apple nutrients may have beneficial effects for health even if these are still poorly described. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of a hydro-alcoholic extract of cashew apple (cashew apple extract; CAE; Cashewin(™)) on obesity and diabetes, in two experimental designs using the diet-induced obesity (DIO) mouse model. First, in the preventive design, mice were treated orally with the CAE at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight from the first day under a high-fat diet (HFD) and during 8 weeks thereafter. Second, in the curative design, the animals were first maintained under the HFD for 4 weeks and then treated with the CAE for a further 4 weeks under the same regimen. For both experimental designs, body weight, peri-epididymal adipose tissue, liver weight, food consumption, glycaemia, insulinaemia and insulin resistance were assessed. In both designs, the CAE significantly reduced body-weight gain and fat storage in both the peri-epididymal adipose tissue and the liver for mice under the HFD. This was achieved without modifying their energy consumption. Furthermore, glycaemia, insulinaemia and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance) of the DIO mice were significantly lowered compared with the control group. Thus, a well-designed hydro-alcoholic extract of cashew apple could provide an attractive nutritional food ingredient to help support the management of body weight and associated metabolic parameters such as blood glucose and insulin levels.