Alliin (S-allyl cysteine sulfoxide) is a bioactive sulfoxide compound derived from garlic. To evaluate the preventive effect of alliin against metabolic risk factors in diet induced obese (DIO) mice, we treated the C57BL/6J DIO mice with drinking water with or without alliin (0.1 mg/ml) for 8 weeks. Results showed that alliin had no significant effect on the body weight, adiposity or energy balance. However, alliin treatment enhanced glucose homeostasis, increased insulin sensitivity and improved the lipid profile in the DIO mice. This was, at least partly, attributable to alliin induced modulation of the intestinal microbiota composition, typically decreased Lachnospiraceae and increased Ruminococcaceae. From above, we conclude that alliin has nutraceutical or even medicinal potential in prevention of diabetes and lipid metabolic disorders.

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The increased prevalence of obesity significantly affects human health worldwide.

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Improvement of hyperglycemia through dietotherapy/herbal remedy is an effective approach to treating diabetes. In this study, mulberry leaf, famous for silkworm’s special food and therapeutic value without any side effects, alleviated diabetes by attenuating NEFA signaling and modulating intestinal microflora. Mulberry leaf treatment significantly reduce fasting blood-glucose and HbA1c, ameliorate the blood lipid profile and improve insulin resistance in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Mechanistically, we found that mulberry leaf inhibited NEFA signaling by reducing downstream signaling in the NEFA pathway, further verified by reduced PKC and improved cellular energy homeostasis based on restored expression of PGC-1α, AK2, OXPHOS and adiponectin. Mulberry leaf treatment also restored the phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria and class Clostridia, which were associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. Our findings reveal that mulberry leaf is an edible with therapeutic potential for diabetes and may provide a novel dietotherapy/herbal remedy to the treatment of diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Chlorogenic acid is a type of phenolic acid found in many plants. Chlorogenic acid has an anti-obesity effect with an unclear mechanism. The present study aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of chlorogenic acid on energy balance in high-fat diet (HFD) induced obese C57BL/6J mice administrated 100 mg kg-1 chlorogenic acid for 13 weeks. RESULTS: The consumption of chlorogenic acid ameliorated HFD induced obesity. Chlorogenic acid did not change the physical activity but significantly decreased food intake and increased body temperature, thermal dissipation and brown adipose tissue activity. Moreover, chlorogenic acid improved glucose tolerance but had a moderate impact on other blood indices. Additionally, chlorogenic acid failed to restore the microbiota change associated with HFD induced obesity, but modified the gut bacterial composition in a unique way. CONCLUSION: Supplementation with chlorogenic acid can improve HFD induced obesity and associated glucose intolerance mainly via regulating food intake and energy expenditure.

Obesity is associated with disrupted energy homeostasis and intestinal dysbiosis. Caulis Spatholobi, traditional Chinese medicine for herbal therapy, contains a wide range of bioactive compounds and has a specific pharmacological function. However, its effects on obesity and related metabolic disorder have remained largely unexplored. In this study, we showed that the water extract of Caulis Spatholobi (WECS) has a significant effect in inhibiting body weight gain, decreasing adiposity, maintaining glucose homeostasis, reducing insulin resistance and improving hepatic steatosis in diet-introduced obesity (DIO) mice. Besides, the administration of WECS significantly increased the expression levels of genes involved in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation and thermogenesis in DIO mice. Also, the activation of BAT treated with WECS was also confirmed in BAT primary cells. Mechanisms, the improvement of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance may be related to the upregulated MAPK and AMPK pathways in white adipose tissue (WAT) and BAT. Notably, WECS also improved the obesity-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, which induced an increase of anti-obesity and anti-diabetes related bacteria genus. In conclusion, Caulis Spatholobi can ameliorate obesity through activating brown adipose tissue and modulating the composition of gut microbiota. Our findings provide a novel perspective on Chinese medicine applications and provide a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders.

HIGHLIGHTS Allicin reduces adiposity and maintains glucose homeostasisAllicin activates the brown adipocytes and increases the energy expenditure Allicin enhances BAT activity partly through SIRT1-PGC1a-Tfam signaling pathway Allicin regulates mitophagy via suppressed sirt5-mediated succinylation accumulation