Abstract
BackgroundRecently, it has been noted that natural herbal medications may be effective in treating obesity. Tongbi-san (TBS) is a traditional medicine usually used for dysuria (i.e., painful urination), containing three herbs, Cyperus rotundus L., Citrus unshiu Markovich, and Poria cocos. In this study, we aimed to examine whether TBS can inhibit high-fat diet (HFD)-induced adipogenesis in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue of obese mice.MethodsMale C57BL/6 N mice were fed a normal diet, an HFD, an HFD plus orlistat 10 or 20 mg/kg, or an HFD plus TBS 50 or 100 mg/kg for 11 weeks. Body weight was checked weekly and histological tissue examinations were investigated. An expression of genes involved in adipogenesis was also assessed.ResultsOral administration of TBS significantly reduced body weight and decreased epididymal and visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) weight. In addition, we found that TBS enhanced the expression of the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibited the expression of transcription factors, such as CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in the liver and epididymal WAT as measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that the anti-obesity effects of TBS may be linked to the activation of AMPK.
Highlights
It has been noted that natural herbal medications may be effective in treating obesity
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), C/ CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (EBPα), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) oligonucleotide primers were purchased from Bioneer Corporation (Daejeon, Republic of Korea), and SYBR Premix Ex Taq was purchased from Takara Bio Inc. (Otsu, Japan)
TBS suppressed adipose tissue size and body weight in mice with HFD-induced obesity After 1 week of adaption, the animals used for this study were randomly distributed into six groups (n = 6): the normal diet (CON) group, the high-fat diet (HFD) group, the HFD plus orlistat 10 mg/kg group (Orlistat 10 mg/kg), the HFD plus orlistat 20 mg/kg group (Orlistat 20 mg/kg), the HFD plus TBS 50 mg/kg group (TBS 50 mg/kg), and the HFD plus TBS 100 mg/kg group (TBS 100 mg/kg)
Summary
It has been noted that natural herbal medications may be effective in treating obesity. We aimed to examine whether TBS can inhibit high-fat diet (HFD)-induced adipogenesis in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue of obese mice. Obesity is characterized by excessive growth in adipose tissue mass and is rapidly becoming a public health problem that affects millions of people worldwide [1]. Adipose tissue has been considered to be a main regulator of energy homeostasis [2]. Due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, obesity gives rise to excessive growth and expansion of adipose tissue [3]. The white adipose tissue (WAT) is a complex endocrine organ composed of different depots, including subcutaneous (e.g., inguinal) and intra-abdominal (e.g., epididymal and mesenteric) WAT depots [4]. WAT is properly extended to store the surplus energy, during obesity, it may become severely dysfunctional and fail for these functions. The unhealthy WAT expansion has been correlated with numerous deleterious outcomes, such as inflammation, hypoxia, fibrosis, and disrupted
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