Unripe banana flour ( Musa cavendishii ) promotes increased hypothalamic antioxidant activity, reduced caloric intake, and abdominal fat accumulation in rats on a high‐fat diet

The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and redox status of supplementation with unripe banana flour (Musa cavendishii) in high-fat-fed Wistar rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into the following groups for 98 days: control-lab chow; unripe banana flour (UBF)-lab chow with added unripe banana flour; high-fat (HFD)-lab chow with added lard; unripe banana flour + high-fat (UBF + HFD)-lab chow with added unripe banana flour and lard. The HFD group showed higher caloric intake, weight gain, abdominal fat accumulation, steatosis, and oxidative stress in the hypothalamus than the other groups. Conversely, the HFD + UBF group showed reduced caloric intake, weight gain, and abdominal adipose tissue accumulation compared to the HFD group. Notably, an improvement in the redox state of the hypothalamus was observed in the HFD + UBF group. However, this group showed a worsening redox state and fat accumulation in the liver. Practical applications The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide over the past 50 years, reaching pandemic levels. It is also possible that, although it is a multifactorial disease, the main cause of obesity development is still related to a high intake of high-fat diets. Therefore, it is imperative to establish alternatives for the control and treatment of obesity. Here, we showed that unripe banana flour can improve hypothalamic antioxidant activity, reduce caloric intake, and prevent abdominal fat accumulation. These outcomes indicate the anti-obesity potential of unripe banana flour and highlight the need for future studies. However, the damage observed in the liver indicated that, at the concentrations used in the present study, its use should be carefully evaluated.