Abstract
Potentilla longifolia Willd. ex D.F.K.Schltdl., which is a kind of traditional Chinese herb, is often referred to as “Ganyancao” in China, which means “the herb is effective in the treatment of liver inflammation”. Three new (ganyearmcaoosides A and B and ganyearmcaoic acid A; 1–3) and 26 known compounds (4–29) were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the dried aerial parts of this plant, of which 21 were isolated for the first time from this plant. The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated using NMR and HR-ESI-MS analysis. The inhibitory effects of the 29 compounds with safe concentrations on the lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells were evaluated using photographic and quantitative assessments of lipid contents by Oil Red O staining, and measurement of the triglyceride levels. Comprehensive analysis showed that compound 12 (3,8-dimethoxy-5,7,4′- trihydroxyflavone) showed the best inhibitory effect on lipid accumulation such as reducing the accumulation of oil droplets and triglyceride level, and was superior to the reference in positive control. Western blot analysis and RT-PCR results showed that compound 12 enhanced the phosphorylations of AMPK and ACC, and inhibited the expressions of adipogenesis-related proteins or genes including SREBP1c, FAS, SCD1, GPAT, PPARγ and C/EBPα, and thereby significantly inhibited lipid accumulation in a concentration-dependent manner. P. longifolia and its bioactive compounds could be promising as potential therapeutic agents for diseases related to lipid accumulation in the future.
Highlights
Excessive accumulation of lipids in the human body may lead to many problems, including hypertension, obesity, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes
The results showed that TG levels in cells treated with compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 26 were decreased compared with the differentiation medium (DM) group to 72, 73, 67, 72, 64, 61, 56, 67, and 66%, respectively in which compounds 9, 11 and 12 were greater than compound 26 in terms of reducing TG accumulation and compounds 3 and 13 were very close to positive control
The results showed that adipogenesis-related proteins or genes including Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), StearoylCoenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1), glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), PPARγ and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), AMPK and ACC, were all more or less involved in the inhibitory effects of lipid accumulation by compound 12
Summary
Excessive accumulation of lipids in the human body may lead to many problems, including hypertension, obesity, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. These problems disturb the physical and mental health of human beings, and seriously delay the development of human society and economy (Wada et al, 2007; Ideta et al, 2015; Ma et al, 2018). Solutions to these health problems are often focused on the prevention or suppression of fat accumulation. Many clinically used drugs of plant origin were derived from traditional medicines (Alves and Rosa, 2007; Li-Weber, 2009; Yuan et al, 2016)
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