Abstract
The present study investigated the synergic effect of extracts of Morus alba (MA) and Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) (AR) against high-fat diet induced obesity. Four-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into five groups that were fed for 14 weeks with a normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HD), HD with M. alba 400 mg/kg body weight (MA), HD with A. melanocarpa 400 mg/kg body weight (AR), or HD with a mixture (1:1, v/v) of M. alba and A. melanocarpa (400 mg/kg) (MA + AR). Treatment with MA, AR, and MA + AR for 14 weeks reduced high fat diet-induced weight gain and improved serum lipid levels, and histological analysis revealed that MA and AR treatment markedly decreased lipid accumulation in the liver and adipocyte size in epididymal fat. Furthermore, micro-CT images showed MA + AR significantly reduced abdominal fat volume. Expression levels of genes involved in lipid anabolism, such as SREBP-1c, PPAR-γ, CEBPα, FAS, and CD36 were decreased by MA + AR treatment whereas PPAR-α, ACOX1, and CPT-1a levels were increased by MA + AR treatment. Protein expression of p-AMPK and p-ACC were increased in the MA + AR group, indicating that MA + AR ameliorated obesity by upregulating AMPK signaling. Together, our findings indicate that MA and AR exert a synergistic effect against diet-induced obesity and are promising agents for managing obesity.
Highlights
Obesity is a clinical disease characterized by excessive body fat that poses various health problems
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We observed that Morus alba (MA) and AR interacted synergistically to ameliorate the negative effects of obesity compared to each of these extracts individually in C57BL/6 mice
Summary
Obesity is a clinical disease characterized by excessive body fat that poses various health problems. Research has focused on fat accumulation, absorption, adipocyte differentiation, lipogenesis, and lipolysis to develop functional foods or nutraceuticals that can ameliorate obesity [4,5]. Morus alba (MA), known as silkworm mulberry, common mulberry or white mulberry is a plant in the family Moraceae. This species, which is native to India and northern China, has many beneficial health effects [6]. Compounds such as quercetin3-(6-malonyl-glycoside), carotene, folic acid, folinic acid, vitamin D, succinic acid, and prenylflavanes have been isolated from the leaves of MA [7]. MA has been demonstrated to have anti-obesogenic effects by promoting adipocyte apoptosis and impeding pre-adipocyte differentiation and lipogenesis in high-fat diet (HD)-induced obese mice [10]
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