An Ancient Chinese Herbal Decoction Containing Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Astragali Radix, Jujuba Fructus, and Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens Stimulates the Browning Conversion of White Adipocyte in Cultured 3T3-L1 Cells

Abstract

Background. Abnormal storage of white adipocyte tissue (WAT) is the major factor causing obesity. The promising strategies for obesity treatment are building up the brown adipocyte tissue (BAT) and/or expedite fatty acid catabolism. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sheds light on preventing obesity. Ginger is one of the most effective herbs for antiobesity by accelerating browning WAT. To fortify the antiobesity effect of ginger, an ancient Chinese herbal decoction composed of four herbs, Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR), Astragali Radix (AR), Jujuba Fructus (JF), and Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (ZRR; ginger), was tested here: this herbal formula was written in AD 1155, named as Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT1155). Therefore, the antiobesity function of this ancient herbal decoction was revealed in vitro by cultured 3T3-L1 cells. Materials and Method. The lipid accumulation was detected by Oil Red O staining. Furthermore, the underlying working mechanisms of antiobesity functions of DBT1155 were confirmed in 3T3-L1 cells by confocal microscopy, western blot, and RT-PCR. Results. DBT1155 was able to actuate brown fat-specific gene activations, which included (i) expression of PPARγ, UCP1, and PCG1α and (ii) fatty acid oxidation genes, i.e., CPT1A and HSL. The increase of browning WAT, triggered by DBT1155, was possibly mediated by a Ca2+-AMPK signaling pathway, because the application of Ca2+ chelator, BAMPTA-AM, reversed the effect. Conclusion. These findings suggested that the herbal mixture DBT1155 could potentiate the antiobesity functions of ginger, which might have potential therapeutic implications.

<p>The Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Obesity</p>

“…35 The Danggui Buxue decoction (DBT1155) can activate the Ca2+-AMPK signaling pathway in a time-dependent manner to trigger WAT browning in adipocytes and increase the expression of BAT markers in a dose-dependent manner. 17 Curcumin can significantly upregulate the expression of BAT-specific genes (fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor alpha-like effector A (Cidea), transmembrane protein 26 (Tmem26), T-box transcription factor (Tbx1)) and proteins (UCP1, PGC1α and PR domain containing 16 (PRDM16)) to drive BAT thermogenesis. Curcumin can also increase carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT1) to increase the activity of mitochondria in brown adipocytes and enhance the oxidation of fatty acids.…”

“…10,11 In this paper, we selected drugs that have been widely discussed in obesity-related metabolic studies and can be used in clinical practice without obvious toxic and side effects, such as ginsenoside (Ginseng), 12 celastrol (Tripterygium wilfordii), 13 berberine (Coptis chinensis), 14 curcumin (Turmeric), 15 and the Xiexin 16 and Danggui Buxue decoctions. 17 Considering that different organ tissues may play similar weight-reducing roles under the role of TCM or TCM extracts in the weight-reducing process, we will mainly generalize from the specific mechanisms (regulating fat metabolism, intestinal Microflora, and regulating hormone level, etc. ), as shown in Figure 1.…”

Nutraceuticals and the Network of Obesity Modulators

“…Mostly used are nutraceutical compositions of extracts, such as a composition of radix from Angelicae sinensis and rhizome from Zingiber officinale . Z. officinale has also been widely reported to activate the AMPK signalling pathway [ 32 , 33 ]. A similar effect was observed using an ethanolic extract of Scutellaria baicalensis; in this case, however, the biological effect relates to the wingless integrated protein (WNT)/β-catenin pathway.…”

Effect of oral cannabis administration on the fat depots of obese and streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats

“…It is, however, important to note that an increase in TCA cycle might also be due to increased ATP demand for TAG synthesis (Benador et al, 2018 ). As such, the enzyme activity of carnitine palmitoyl CoA transferase 1 (CPT1) which is the rate‐limiting step in fat oxidation (Schlaepfer & Joshi, 2020 ) and has been shown to boost mitochondrial activity and promote fat oxidation (Gong et al, 2019 ) was investigated. Interestingly, at the peritoneal level, CPT1 activity in all the STZ‐induced rats was unaffected when compared to the untreated control.…”

“…Metabolic healthy obesity is not associated with the development of metabolic syndrome such as insulin resistance as glucose/lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity are preserved (Ahmad & Zawatia, 2021;Blüher, 2020;Tsatsoulis & Paschou, 2020). It has been found to be strongly dependent on the type and location of fat depots (Bala et al, 2016;G omez-Zorita et al, 2021;Teixeira et al, 2015), for example, an increase in peritoneal fat and subcutaneous fat depots is linked to an increased and decreased risk of metabolic syndrome, respectively. Therefore, it would be of great interest to researchers to design or discover a drug, that can optimize fat distribution and metabolism in the body.…”