Angelica sinensis Suppresses Body Weight Gain and Alters Expression of the FTO Gene in High-Fat-Diet Induced Obese Mice.

Tao Zhong,Li Li,Lili Niu,Hong-Ping Zhang,Xiao-Yue Duan,Hao Zhang

doi:10.1155/2017/6280972

Abstract

The root of Angelica sinensis (RAS) is a traditional Chinese medicine used for preventing and treating various diseases. In this study, we assessed RAS supplementation effects on body weight and the FTO gene expression and methylation status in a high-fat-diet (HFD) induced obese mouse model. Female obese mice were divided into groups according to RAS dosage in diet as follows: normal diet, HFD diet (HC), HFD with low-dosage RAS (DL), HFD with medium-dosage RAS (DM), and HFD with high-dosage RAS (DH). After RAS supplementation for 4 weeks, body weight suppression and FTO expression in DH mice were significantly higher than in HC mice, whereas no significant change in FTO expression was detected between DM and DL mice or in their offspring. Bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) revealed that the CpG island in the FTO promoter was hypermethylated up to 95.44% in the HC group, 91.67% in the DH group, and 90.00% in the normal diet group. Histological examination showed that adipocytes in the DH group were smaller than those in the HC group, indicating a potential role of RAS in obesity. This study indicated that RAS could ameliorate obesity induced by HFD and that the molecular mechanism might be associated with the expression of the FTO gene.

Highlights

Obesity is a global health priority and resistance to diet induced obesity has been studied in many animal models
After 5 weeks, the mice in the high-fat control group (HC) group were divided into five subgroups, HC, DL, DM, and DH, fed with different dosage of root of Angelica sinensis (RAS) supplementation for another 4 weeks
RAS supplementation did not show an obvious effect on body weight between the offspring from the HC and DH groups

Summary

Introduction

Obesity is a global health priority and resistance to diet induced obesity has been studied in many animal models. A diet rich in sugar and containing up to 45% fat has been widely used to induce obesity in mice [1,2,3]. Scientists have found that some Chinese herbs like berberine, curcuma longa, and Sibiraea angustata could effectively ameliorate obesity by inhibiting the synthesis, growth, and accumulation of fatty acid in adipocytes [4,5,6]. The functions of Chinese herbs have been investigated in vivo in mouse models of highfat-diet (HFD) induced obesity [7]. Previous studies have shown that the Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP), the active chemical components of RAS, had hematopoietic effects in animal and cellular models [10]. The antioxidant effects of ASP could stimulate the endothelial production of nitric oxide and resist ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury [12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion