Abstract
BackgroundArtemisia princeps Pamp (APP), Leonurus japonicas Houtt (LJH), and Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fruit (GJE) have been traditionally used in East Asia to treat women’s diseases related to reproductive system. They may attenuate the deterioration of energy, lipid, glucose and bone metabolism by estrogen deficiency. The present study explored the combination of APP, LJH, and GJE to overcome the symptoms of estrogen deficiency and the mechanism was explored.MethodsOvariectomized (OVX) rats were divided into five groups and fed high-fat diets supplemented with 2 % dextrin (control), 2 % APP, 2 % APP + LJH (15:5), APP + LJH + GJE (10:5:5) or 17β-estradiol (30 μg/kg bw/day) for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of their consumption, energy, lipid, glucose and bone metabolisms were investigated and hepatic insulin signaling and fatty acid metabolism were determined.ResultsAPP + LJH + GJE, but not APP itself, improved energy metabolism and attenuated a decrease in energy expenditure by the same amount as estrogen. Moreover, APP + LJH + GJE reduced visceral fat and intramuscular fat and increased lean body mass measured by DEXA by as much as the positive-control. APP itself suppressed increased LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in OVX rats and APP + LJH + GJE alleviated dyslipidemia in OVX rats. Overnight-fasted serum insulin levels and HOMA-IR were reduced in the descending order of APP, APP + LJH, APP + LJH + GJE, positive-control in OVX rats. APP and APP + LJH elevated insulin secretion in the 1st part of OGTT to decrease serum glucose levels while APP + LJH + GJE reduced serum glucose levels without increasing serum insulin levels during OGTT. APP + LJH + GJE decreased insulin resistance during ITT in OVX rats more than the positive-control. The APP + LJH + GJE group exhibited increased hepatic peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α expression, which increased the number of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and decreased fatty acid synthesis. Hepatic insulin signaling (pAkt and pGSK-1β) was also potentiated to reduce phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase proteins.ConclusionThe combination of APP + LJH + GJE attenuated various menopausal symptoms in OVX rats. Thus, it may have potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms.
Highlights
Artemisia princeps Pamp (APP), Leonurus japonicas Houtt (LJH), and Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fruit (GJE) have been traditionally used in East Asia to treat women’s diseases related to reproductive system
These results suggested that the combination of APP + LJH + GJE may have potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms
The present study showed similar results in OVX rats, as the expression of proliferatoractivated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC)-1α was lower, whereas it was higher with APP and APP + LJH + GJE treatments
Summary
Artemisia princeps Pamp (APP), Leonurus japonicas Houtt (LJH), and Gardenia jasminoides Ellis fruit (GJE) have been traditionally used in East Asia to treat women’s diseases related to reproductive system They may attenuate the deterioration of energy, lipid, glucose and bone metabolism by estrogen deficiency. In addition to menopausal symptoms, estrogen deficiency results in the decrease of energy, glucose, lipid and bone metabolism by reducing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α expression in various tissues [2]. This impairment may not influence daily life as much as menopausal symptoms but can eventually develop into metabolic diseases such as obesity, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis [3]. The deterioration of metabolism needs to be prevented and/or delayed in post-menopausal women
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