DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sajp.2025.v14i09.005

Pages: 241-248

To contribute to the valorization of plants used in traditional medicine for improving population health, this study was conducted on Citrus limon (Rutaceae), a plant used in Côte d'Ivoire to treat various conditions, including obesity. The acute toxicity study of the aqueous extract of Citrus limon (EACl), performed by gavage in female mice according to OECD 423 guidelines, shows that administration of EACl, up to the maximum dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight, does not result in any mortality of the treated animals. This leads to the conclusion that EACl is not toxic orally. A study of the effects of EACl on obesity induced in rats by a high-calorie, high-fat diet shows that this extract leads to a decrease in body weight in obese rats and has anti-hyperlipidemic and anti-hypercholesterolemic effects in these obese animals treated with the extract at a dose of 1000 mg/kg BW. These effects of EACl on obesity are similar to those of atorvastatin (10 mg/kg BW), a reference anti-hypercholesterolemic substance. EACl could therefore act against obesity through a mechanism similar to that of this statin. These effects of EACl justify the use of Citrus limon (Rutaceae) in traditional medicine for the treatment of obesity.