Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Research Articles

Improvement in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Body Fat Accumulation by a Nelumbo nucifera Leaf Flavonoid-Rich Extract in Mice

Diets high in fat lead to excessive lipid accumulation in adipose tissue, which is a crucial factor in the development of obesity, hepatitis, and hyperlipidemia. In this study, we investigated the antiobesity effect of a flavonoid-enriched extract from Nelumbo nucifera leaf (NLFE) in vivo. C57BL/6 mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity. NLFE reduced the body weight, body lipid accumulation, and activities of fatty acid synthase (FAS), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase. NLFE also suppressed the expression of FAS, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and HMGCoA reductase and increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase in the liver. Taken together, we demonstrated that NLFE targets lipid-regulated enzymes and may be effective in attenuating body lipid accumulation and preventing obesity.

Abstract 2485: Inhibitory effects of the water extract of Nelumbo Nucifera leaf on human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells in vitro and in vivo

Abstract Over the passed decade, advances in understanding carcinogenesis have made possible the identification of the candidates of chemopreventive agents to be developed in targeting the key molecules. Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn) is widely distributed in central and southern Taiwan. Its leaves are becoming popular as an ingredient of healthy beverages. Nelumbo nucifera Leaf extract (NLE) has been reported to exhibit different therapeutic effects, such as anti-oxidant and reduction of risks for cardiovascular disease. This study was aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of NLE on human MCF-7 cell line in vitro and in vivo. Qualitative analysis showed that the NLE contains several compounds using nine kinds of standard polyphenols by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The polyphenols present in identified compound of NLE were mainly gallic acid, rutin and quercetin. The MTT data showed no significant inhibition on growth of MCF-7 cells following NLE treatment, whereas flow cytometry revealed that the cell cycle was arrested at G0/G1 phase with a dose of 3 mg/ml in MCF-7 cells (approximately 86.54%). With western blotting, we found that treatment with NLE particularly induced p53 phosphorylation and p21 expression, and down-regulated expression of cyclins (cyclin D, cyclin E) and cyclin-dependent kinases (cdk2, cdk4) in a dose-dependent manner. The increased p21 also correlated with the decrease of cyclin D/cdk4 and cyclin E/cdk2 complexes, which was responsible for the high protein expression of Rb/E2F. Inactivation of fatty acid synthase (FAS) was shown in vitro and in vivo, implying that FAS was a potent regulator as well of NLE- mediated anti-carcinogenesis. The tumoricidal effect of NLE was further measured using a xenograft nude mice model. Treatment with NLE (0.5 and 1%) effectively reduced the tumor volume and tumor weight in the nude mice inoculated with MCF-7 cells when compared to the control tissue samples. These results confirmed that cell cycle arrest is sufficient to elicit tumor regression after NLE treatment. In conclusion, our studies indicate that NLE offers an anti-tumor activity and potentially can act as a chemotherapeutic agent. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2485.

WATER EXTRACTS FROMNELUMBO NUCIFERALEAF REDUCED PLASMA LIPIDS AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN CHOLESTEROL-FED RABBITS

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn (Nelumbonaceae) leaf was used as food or beverage in Taiwan. Recently, the leaf extract was also found to possess antioxidative ability. Base on the close relationship between antioxidation and atherosclerosis, we investigated the inhibitory activity of the water extract (Nelumbo nucifera leaf extract [NLE]) on hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. In rabbits fed with high-cholesterol diet (HCD) plus 0.5% or 1.0% of NLE, the inhibitory level of triglyceride was 30% and 46.6%, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was 45.4 and 45.9% compared with the HCD-fed rabbits. NLE significantly reduced severe atherosclerosis, foam cell formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in the aorta. In the thiobarituric acid-reacting substances assay, the concentration of NLE higher than 0.05 mg/mL, the inhibitory percentage was about 80%. In the relative electrophoretic mobility assay, NLE inhibited oxidative LDL up to 60%. These results suggest that NLE lowers LDL oxidation and serum lipids, and has cardiovascular protective ability. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The water extract of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn (Nelumbonaceae) leaf can significantly inhibit oxidative low-density lipoprotein in vitro and reduce plasma lipid, atherosclerosis, foam cell formation, and smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in vivo. These findings point out that the water extract of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn (Nelumbonaceae) leaf can be applied for preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Improvement for High Fat Diet-Induced Hepatic Injuries and Oxidative Stress by Flavonoid-Enriched Extract from Nelumbo nucifera Leaf

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn is widespread and a popular food in central and southern Taiwan. It has also been reported to possess different therapeutic effects, but the effects of N. nucifera leaf on lipid metabolism and liver function remain unclear. In this study, a high fat diet was used to induce hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and fatty liver in hamster. The effects of flavonoid-enriched N. nucifera leaf extract supplement and two lipid-lowing drugs, silymarin and simvastatin, on the disorders induced by high fat diet were investigated. The results showed that a 10-week application of a high fat diet to hamsters led to significant increases of body weight, plasma lipid derivatives (triglyceride, total cholesterol, and lipoproteins), lipid peroxidation, and liver damage markers (plasma aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase). Interestingly, flavonoid-enriched N. nucifera leaf extract supplement effectively ameliorated the high fat diet-induced lipid metabolic disorders as significantly as silymarin and simvastatin did. Moreover, the flavonoid-enriched supplement alleviated the high fat diet-induced accumulation of lipids in liver, the findings showing distinguishing mechanisms from the effects of silymarin and simvastatin. These results suggested that the flavonoid-enriched N. nucifera leaf extract supplement may significantly improve the high fat diet-induced abnormal blood lipids and liver damage as significantly as the common drugs. Consequently, it is suggested that the flavonoid-enriched N. nucifera leaf extract supplement is beneficial for the improvement of lipid metabolisms and the alleviation of liver damage in high fat diet treatment.