ObjectivesTo establish whether blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) and mulberry (Morus australis Poir) juice, anthocyanin rich fruit juice, may help counteract obesity.Design And Methods: Four-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without blueberry and mulberry juice for 12 weeks. Body weight, serum and hepatic lipids, liver and adipose tissues morphology, insulin and leptin were assessed.ResultsMice fed HFD exhibited increased body weight, insulin resistance, serum and hepatic lipids. In comparison, blueberry and mulberry juice inhibited body weight gain, decreased the serum cholesterol, reduced the resistance to insulin, attenuated lipid accumulation and decreased the leptin secretin.ConclusionThese results indicate that blueberry and mulberry juice may help counteract obesity.

In the present study, purified sweet cherry anthocyanins (CACN) were evaluated to determine their inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells and their anti-obesity properties in male C57BL/6 mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD). CACN prevented HFD-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice. In vivo experiment revealed that 40 and 200 mg/kg of CACN in food reduced the body weight by 5.2% and 11.2%, respectively. CACN supplementation could also reduce the size of adipocytes, leptin secretion, serum glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and liver triglycerides. Furthermore, CACN could effectively reduce the expression levels of IL-6 and TNFα genes, markedly increase the SOD and GPx activity. Our results indicated that CACN slowed down the development of HFD-induced obesity in male C57BL/6 mice.

This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of honeysuckle anthocyanins (HA) in a high fat diet-induced mouse model. The mice were initially fed with a low-fat diet (LFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. After that, the HFD-fed mice were divided into five groups, with 12 mice in each group, including a HFD group, a HFD plus Orlistat group, and three HFD plus HA (at a dose of 50, 100, or 200 mg kg(-1)) groups, for another 8-week experiment. HA at 100 or 200 mg kg(-1) can suppress body weight gain, reduce serum and liver lipid profiles, ameliorate impaired hepatic function, and significantly increase serum adiponectin concentration while decreasing serum insulin and leptin levels. These results suggest that the anti-obesity effect of HA might be through the blockage of lipid accumulation.

Abstract:Background: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) and Chinese jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.) are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to enhance immune function. Objective: The present study aimed to develop one Chinese prescription, Shenzao Cha (SZC), consisting of American ginseng and Chinese jujube, and systematically investigate its immunomodulation in healthy ICR mice. Methods: Normal ICR mice received intragastric administration of SZC (1.3, 2.6, and 5.2 g raw material/kg body weight) once daily for four weeks, while a control group received the same amount of sterile water. Results: SZC significantly increased the spleen and thymus indices and T-lymphocyte proliferation, while the T-lymphocyte proliferation in the 5.2 g/kg group was 1.4-fold higher than that in the control. Further, 1.3 g/kg SZC could markedly improve hemolytic activity by 25.2%, and 2.6 g/kg SZC increased the NK cell activity by 78.6% relative to the control. In addition, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase), that participated in modulating oxidative stress, were significantly increased in the liver, spleen, thymus, and serum, while the contents of malondialdehyde were dramatically decreased. Conclusions: SZC exhibited potent immunomodulatory effects on innate and adaptive immunity in healthy ICR mice, as well as potential antioxidant activity for prevention of oxidative stress, which was suggested to partly contribute to the immune enhancement.