Abstract
BackgroundHOX-7 is a newly developed dietary formula composed of traditional oriental herbal medicines. The formula was developed with the aim of improving weight control. We investigated the anti-obesity effect of HOX-7 on high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice.MethodsThe mice were divided into four groups and were fed a normal diet (ND), HFD, or HFD with oral administration of HOX-7 at 100 or 200 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks. Body and fat weight, histological changes of fat tissue, and the expression of key adipogenic transcription factors were investigated.ResultsThe body weight of mice fed the HFD with HOX-7 was significantly decreased compared to the HFD group. There were no obvious differences in weekly food intake among the 4 groups. The weight of the epididymal and total fat pads was reduced in mice fed the HFD with HOX-7. Treatment with HOX-7 also substantially attenuated the expression of key adipogenic transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α, sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c, adipocyte P2, liver X receptor, and lipoprotein lipase in the epididymal adipose tissue.ConclusionOverall, this study highlighted the anti-obesity effects of HOX-7, a finding that could contribute to the development of natural anti-obesity herbal medicines.
Highlights
HOX-7 is a newly developed dietary formula composed of traditional oriental herbal medicines
Effects of HOX-7 on body weight and total fat mass in HFD-induced obese mice Figure 1 indicates the changes in body weight and the visceral fat pads, both of which were obviously greater in the HFD group than in the normal diet (ND) group
Effect of HOX-7 on the accumulation of lipid droplets in epididymal adipose tissue To determine whether the observed decrease in body and visceral fat weight was due to reduced accumulation of fat, we stained representative adipose tissues with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)
Summary
HOX-7 is a newly developed dietary formula composed of traditional oriental herbal medicines. Obesity is one of the most prevalent metabolic diseases in the world and constitutes a serious threat in both industrialized and developing countries [1]. It is connected with the genesis or development of various diseases, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, constipation, headache, steatorrhea, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer [2,3]. The second category involves drugs that inhibit the absorption of specific nutrients in food [7] These drugs, of which there are two varieties, can have undesirable side effects, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, constipation, and headache [8]
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