Coix seed extract attenuates the high-fat induced mouse obesity via PPARγ and C/EBPα a downregulation

Novel insights into regulators and functional modulators of adipogenesis

Adipogenesis is a process that differentiates new adipocytes from precursor cells and is tightly regulated by several factors, including many transcription factors and various post-translational modifications. Recently, new roles of adipogenesis have been suggested in various diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms and functional modulation of these adipogenic genes remain poorly understood. This review summarizes the regulatory factors and modulators of adipogenesis and discusses future research directions to identify novel mechanisms regulating adipogenesis and the effects of adipogenic regulators in pathological conditions. The master adipogenic transcriptional factors PPARγ and C/EBPα were identified along with other crucial regulatory factors such as SREBP, Kroxs, STAT5, Wnt, FOXO1, SWI/SNF, KLFs, and PARPs. These transcriptional factors regulate adipogenesis through specific mechanisms, depending on the adipogenic stage. However, further studies related to the in vivo role of newly discovered adipogenic regulators and their function in various diseases are needed to develop new potent therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases and cancer.

Comparison of Quality, Antioxidant Capacity, and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Adlay [Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen (Rom. Caill.) Stapf.] Sprout at Several Harvest Time

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the consumption of plant-based foods such as vegetables and grains for the purpose of disease prevention and treatment. Adlay seeds contain physiologically active substances, including coixol, coixenolide, and lactams. In this study, adlay sprouts were cultivated and harvested at various time points, specifically at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 days after sowing. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using assays such as DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging, reducing power, and total polyphenol contents. The toxicity of the extracts was assessed using cell culture and the WST-1 assay. The aboveground components of the sprouts demonstrated a significant increase in length, ranging from 2.75 cm to 21.87 cm, weight, ranging from 0.05 g to 0.32 g, and biomass, ranging from 161.4 g to 1319.1 g, as the number of days after sowing advanced, reaching its peak coixol content of 39.38 mg/g on the third day after sowing. Notably, the antioxidant enzyme activity was highest between the third and fifth days after sowing. Regarding anti-inflammatory activity, the inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression was most prominent in samples harvested from the ninth to eleventh days after sowing, corresponding to the later stage of growth. While the overall production mass increased with the number of days after sowing, considering factors such as yield increase index per unit area, turnover rate, and antioxidant activity, harvesting at the early growth stage, specifically between the fifth and seventh days after sowing, was found to be economically advantageous. Thus, the quality, antioxidant capacity, and anti-inflammatory activity of adlay sprouts varied depending on the harvest time, highlighting the importance of determining the appropriate harvest time based on the production objectives. This study demonstrates the changes in the growth and quality of adlay sprouts in relation to the harvest time, emphasizing the potential for developing a market for adlay sprouts as a new food product.

Effect of water-soluble polysaccharides from Morchella esculenta on high-fat diet-induced obese mice: changes in gut microbiota and metabolic functions

Morchella esculenta polysaccharides exhibit numerous probiotic activities, but their regulatory effects on the gut microbiota are unclear. This study was conducted to explore whether M. esculenta polysaccharides can regulate dysbacteriosis caused by a high-fat diet and relieve obesity. We extracted a water-soluble polysaccharide from M. esculenta (MPF, purity: 96.19%, consisting of 55.97% glucose, 9.63% xylose, and 22% mannose) that reduces mouse fat accumulation, alleviates obesity, and relieves liver injury, after 90 days of high-fat diet intake. This polysaccharide reversed dysbiosis and regulated the abundance of gut microbiota caused by a high-fat diet (restoring the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and changing the abundances of Lactobacillus, Dubosiella, and Faecalibaculum), increasing short-chain fatty acids and decreasing gene expression in the liver (glucose 6-phosphatase, glucose transporter 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR) receptor-1α, PPARα, PPARγ, and CCAAT enhancer binding protein α). We identified a regulatory relationship between polysaccharides, gut microbiota, and the liver as a potential mechanism by which polysaccharides can alleviate obesity.

Coix Seed-Based Milk Fermented With Limosilactobacillus reuteri Improves Lipid Metabolism and Gut Microbiota in Mice Fed With a High-Fat Diet

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of coix seed-based milk (CSM) fermented with Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) on dyslipidemia and the composition of the intestinal microbiota in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Changes in the body weight, serum lipid levels, activities of hepatic oxidative stress factors, expression of lipid-related genes, and composition of the intestinal microbiota of HFD-fed mice after supplementation with CSM were determined. The results showed that intake of CSM reduced the body weight gain as well as serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in the mice. Meanwhile, supplementation with CSM could relieve liver oxidative stress, down-regulate the expression of genes related to lipid synthesis, and prevent liver fat accumulation in mice fed with HFD. The 16S rRNA sequencing of the intestinal microbiota showed that CSM regulated the gut microbiota community structure at different taxonomic levels, and reversed gut dysbiosis induced by HFD. The relative abundance of Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Dubosiella and Akkermansia which are negatively correlated with blood lipid levels were significantly increased by the intervention of CSM, while the relative abundance of Desulfovibrionaceae, Ruminococca-ceae_UCG-014, Psychrobacter, and Staphylococcus which have positive correlation with blood lipid levels were significantly decreased. These results indicated that CSM might serve as a novel and promising dietary supplement for ameliorating hyperlipidemia and intestinal microbiota disorders caused by HFDs.

Mechanism of Huo-Xue-Qu-Yu Formula in Treating Nonalcoholic Hepatic Steatosis by Regulating Lipid Metabolism and Oxidative Stress in Rats

Huo-Xue-Qu-Yu formula (HXQYF) is a prescription consisting of Ginkgo biloba leaf and Paeonia lactiflora Pall. for treating hyperlipidemia and NAFLD in China. Here, we investigated the hepatic and renal function, oxidative stress and lipid metabolism, and potential mechanisms of HXQYF on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) rat models. NAFLD rat models were induced with high-fat diet (HFD) and 10% fructose water for 18 weeks and orally administered with or without HXQYF simultaneously. The results showed that HXQYF (22.5, 45, 90 mg/kg) significantly improved blood lipid levels via reducing serum TC, TG, LDL-C, and APOB values and elevating HDL-C and APOA1 levels in NAFLD rats. The higher levels of ALT, AST, CR, and BUN in serum induced by HFD were reduced by HXQYF. HE staining showed that HXQYF (90 mg/kg) reduced the accumulation of fat droplets and alleviated inflammatory response in liver cells. Three doses of HXQYF exhibited notable antioxidant effects by elevating SOD, GSH, and CAT activities and decreasing MDA and OH-1 levels in the liver. Furthermore, abnormal lipid metabolism caused by HFD was alleviated by HXQYF, which was associated with the upregulation of PPAR-α, AdipoR2, and CPT1 mRNAs as well as the downregulation of CYP2E1 and SREBP-1c mRNAs in liver tissue. In conclusion, our work verified that HXQYF could reduce the degree of hepatic steatosis, suppress oxidative stress, and attenuate lipid metabolism, thus preventing NAFLD.

The Potential Therapeutic Value of Medicinal Plants in the Management of Metabolic Disorders

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a prevalent, multifactorial and complex disease that is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and other major cardiovascular complications. The rise in the global prevalence of MetS has been attributed to genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. The adoption of sedentary lifestyles that are characterized by low physical activity and the consumption of high-energy diets contributes to MetS development. Current management criteria for MetS risk factors involve changes in lifestyle and the use of pharmacological agents that target specific biochemical pathways involved in the metabolism of nutrients. Pharmaceutical drugs are usually expensive and are associated with several undesirable side effects. Alternative management strategies of MetS risk factors involve the use of medicinal plants that are considered to have multiple therapeutic targets and are easily accessible. Medicinal plants contain several different biologically active compounds that provide health benefits. The impact of phytochemicals present in local medicinal plants on sustainable health and well-being of individuals has been studied for many years and found to involve a plethora of complex biochemical, metabolic, and physiological mechanisms. While some of these phytochemicals are the basis of mainstream prescribed drugs (e.g., metformin, reserpine, quinine, and salicin), there is a need to identify more medicinal plants that can be used for the management of components of MetS and to describe their possible mechanisms of action. In this review, we assess the potential health benefits of South African ethnomedicinal plants in protecting against the development of health outcomes associated with MetS. We aim to provide the state of the current knowledge on the use of medicinal plants and their therapeutically important phytochemicals by discussing the current trends, with critical examples from recent primary references of how medicinal plants are being used in South African rural and urban communities.

Farnesol Has an Anti-obesity Effect in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice and Induces the Development of Beige Adipocytes in Human Adipose Tissue Derived-Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Brown adipocytes dissipate energy as heat and hence have an important therapeutic capacity for obesity. Development of brown-like adipocytes (also called beige) is also another attractive target for obesity treatment. Here, we investigated the effect of farnesol, an isoprenoid, on adipogenesis in adipocytes and on the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) as well as on the weight gain of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Farnesol inhibited adipogenesis and the related key regulators including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α through the up-regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase in 3T3-L1 murine adipocytes and human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs). Farnesol markedly increased the expression of uncoupling protein 1 and PPARγ coactivator 1 α in differentiated hAMSCs. In addition, farnesol limited the weight gain in HFD obese mice and induced the development of beige adipocytes in both inguinal and epididymal WAT. These results suggest that farnesol could be a potential therapeutic agent for obesity treatment.

Albiflorin ameliorates obesity by inducing thermogenic genes via AMPK and PI3K/AKT in vivo and in vitro

OBJECTIVE

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation has been identified as a possible target to treat obesity and to protect against metabolic diseases by increasing energy consumption. We explored whether albiflorin (AF), a natural compound, could contribute to lowering the high risk of obesity with BAT and primary brown preadipocytes in vivo and in vitro.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) were cultured with adipogenic differentiation media with or without AF. Male C57BL/6J mice (n=5 per group) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for six weeks with or without AF. Brown preadipocytes from the interscapular BAT of mice were cultured with or without AF.

RESULTS

In white adipogenic differentiation of hAMSCs, AF treatment significantly reduced the formation of lipid droplets and the expression of adipogenesis-related genes. In HFD-induced obese C57BL/6J mice, AF treatment significantly reduced body weight gain as well as the weights of the white adipose tissue, liver and spleen. Furthermore, AF induced the expression of genes involved in thermogenic function in BAT. In primary brown adipocytes, AF effectively stimulated the expressions of thermogenic genes and markedly up-regulated the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. Pretreatment with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 nullified the induction of the thermogenic genes by AF in primary brown adipocytes. Moreover, AF activated beige cell marker genes induced by the pharmacological activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ in hAMSCs.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that AF prevents the development of obesity in hAMSCs and mice fed an HFD and that it is also capable of stimulating the differentiation of brown adipocytes through the modulation of thermogenic genes by AMPK and PI3K/AKT.

Pharmacognostic outlooks on medical herbs of Sasang typology

The purpose of this study was to review the pharmacognostic characteristics of Sasang type-specific medical herbs and suggest biological mechanisms that might be related to the personalized treatment of the East.

Major compounds and their pharmacological activities of medical herbs for each Sasang types were systematically reviewed. The pharmacognostic characteristics of its main compounds were systematically analyzed with previous studies and three web-based databases.

Sasang type-specific medical herbs were selected, and biological effects of their phytochemicals were reviewed from the pathophysiological features of each Sasang types. Phenolics were dominant in Tae-Yang type-specific herbs, iridoids and triterpenes with antipyretic and diuretic effects were in So-Yang type-specific, saponins (triterpene saponins and steroidal saponins) with antitussive effects were in Tae-Eum type-specific, and monoterpene and sesquiterpenes with stomachic effect were in So-Eum type-specific herbs.

Pharmacognostic understandings on Sasang type-specific medical herbs with consideration of type-specific pathophysiological features were provided for the first time. This study would contribute to in-depth understandings on the pathophysiology of Sasang typology and integration of East-Asian and Western personalized medicine.

Ginkgolide A ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases on high fat diet mice

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common diseases worldwide and has continuously increased. NAFLD refers to a spectrum of diseases ranging from fatty liver to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and even to hepatocyte carcinoma. Excessive fatty acid enters the cell and the mitochondria undergo stress and unremoved ROS can trigger a form of cell apoptosis known as 'lipoapoptosis'. NASH arises from damaged liver hepatocytes due to lipotoxicity. NASH not only involves lipid accumulation and apoptosis but also inflammation. Ginkgo biloba has been tested clinical trials as a traditional medicine for asthma, bronchitis and cardiovascular disease. The effects of Ginkgolide A (GA), derived from the ginkgo biloba leaf, are still unknown in NAFLD. To determine the protective effects of GA in NAFLD, we examined the fatty liver disease condition in the non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA)-induced HepG2 cell line and in a high fat diet mouse model. The findings of this study suggest that GA is non-toxic at high concentrations in hepatocytes. Moreover, GA was found to inhibit cellular lipogenesis and lipid accumulation by causing mitochondrial oxidative stress. GA showed hepatoprotective efficacy by inducing cellular lipoapoptosis and by inhibiting cellular inflammation. The results demonstrated that GA may be feasible as a therapeutic agent for NAFLD patients.

Anti-lipoapoptotic effects of Alisma orientalis extract on non-esterified fatty acid-induced HepG2 cells

BACKGROUND

Liver steatosis was caused by lipid accumulation in the liver. Alisma orientale (AO) is recognized as a promising candidate with therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). HepG2 hepatocyte cell line is commonly used for liver disease cell model.

METHOD

The HepG2 cells were cultured with the NEFAs mixture (oleic and palmitic acids, 2:1 ratio) for 24 h to induce hepatic steatosis. Then different doses of Alisma orientale extract (AOE) was treated to HepG2 for 24 h. Incubated cells were used for further experiments.

RESULTS

The AOE showed inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation in the Oil Red O staining and Nile red staining tests with no cytotoxicity at a concentration of 300 μg/mL. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) mRNA and protein expression level were down-regulated after AOE treatment. Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) mRNA expression level were decreased as well as p-JNK (activated form of JNK), Bax, cleaved caspase-9, caspase-3 protein expression level. Anti-apopototic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein level increased after AOE treatment. In addition, inflammatory protein expression including p-p65, p65, COX-2 and iNOS were inhibited by AOE treatment.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that AOE has anti-steatosis effects that involve lipogenesis, anti-lipoapoptosis, and anti-inflammation in the NEFA-induced NAFLD pathological cell model.

Antihyperglycemic and Antiobesity Effects of JAL2 on db/db Mice

Lonicera japonica Thunb. (LJT) and Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. (RGL) have been used traditionally as a herbal medicine in Korean medicine. Using LC/Q-TOF was performed to profile the two herbal medicines and the mixture of LJR and RGL (JAL2, ratio 1 : 1). We performed oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and plasma GLP-1 and insulin secretion by multiplex assays to investigate antidiabetic effects of LJT, RGL, and JAL2 in db/db mice, the mice model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Also, the antiobesity-related factors such as plasma peptide YY (PYY), triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and weight of liver, epididymal, and retroperitoneal fat tissue were investigated. Through the multiplex assay, it was found that JAL2 treatment more efficiently attenuated high levels of blood glucose by stimulating GLP-1 secretion and reduced LDL concentration and weight of liver and retroperitoneal fat tissue compared to LJT or RGL treated separately. These results suggest that the JAL2 has antidiabetes and antiobesity effects in T2DM mice model.

The aglycone of ginsenoside Rg3 enables glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in enteroendocrine cells and alleviates hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetic mice

Ginsenosides can be classified on the basis of the skeleton of their aglycones. Here, we hypothesized that the sugar moieties attached to the dammarane backbone enable binding of the ginsenosides to the sweet taste receptor, eliciting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in the enteroendocrine L cells. Using the human enteroendocrine NCI-H716 cells, we demonstrated that 15 ginsenosides stimulate GLP-1 secretion according to the position of their sugar moieties. Through a pharmacological approach and RNA interference technique to inhibit the cellular signal cascade and using the Gαgust^−/− mice, we elucidated that GLP-1 secreting effect of Rg3 mediated by the sweet taste receptor mediated the signaling pathway. Rg3, a ginsenoside metabolite that transformed the structure through a steaming process, showed the strongest GLP-1 secreting effects in NCI-H716 cells and also showed an anti-hyperglycemic effect on a type 2 diabetic mouse model through increased plasma GLP-1 and plasma insulin levels during an oral glucose tolerance test. Our study reveals a novel mechanism where the sugar moieties of ginsenosides Rg3 stimulates GLP-1 secretion in enteroendocrine L cells through a sweet taste receptor-mediated signal transduction pathway and thus has an anti-hyperglycemic effect on the type 2 diabetic mouse model.