THE EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON THE BODY WEIGHT OF BALB/C MICE

Objective: To determine the effect of caffeine on the body weight of BALB/c mice.Study Design: Lab based randomized control trial.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Anatomy Department, Army Medical College (AMC), Rawalpindi, in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, from Oct 2014 to Oct 2015.Material and Methods: Three weeks old BALB/c mice, twenty (20) in number (10 male, 10 female), weighing 12- 14 g, were taken and divided into two groups with 10 mice (5 male, 5 female) in each group. The control group G1 was given standard diet with water ad libitum. In addition to the standard diet, the animals in experimental group G2 were given 10mg of caffeine per 100g body weight once a day on alternate days, three days in a week by oral gavage for 60 days. At the conclusion of the experiment, body weights of the mice in both the groups were measured to determine the influence of caffeine.Results: The mean final body weight of mice of control group G1 was observed as 31.2 ± 1.932g while the mean final body weight of experimental group G2 was found to be 27.1 ± 2.025g. As compared to control group G1, the final body weight of animals in experimental group G2 was found to be less.Conclusion: Ingestion of caffeine has negative effect on the accretion of body weight in mice.