Anti-obesity Effects of Sparassis crispa on High-fat Diet-induced Obese Mice

Abstract

The present study investigated the anti-obesity effects of Sparassis crispa (SC) on mice fed a high-fat (HF, 45 kcal% fat) diet. Mice were fed either a normal control diet and an HF diet or an HF diet supplemented with SC (1%, 3%, and 5%) for 12 weeks. The consumption of an HF diet compared to the NC group resulted in increases in body weight, the food efficiency ratio (FER), retroperitoneal and subcutaneous fat weights, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, fecal fat, and liver lipids. However, the administration of SC significantly decreased body weight gain, food intake, FER, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and liver lipids in a dose-dependent manner. In particular, treatment with 5% SC significantly reduced the occurrence of fatty liver deposits and steatosis, which are associated with the increased adipocyte size in mice fed an HF diet. Therefore, these results suggested that dietary supplementation with SC exerts anti-obesity effects and could be used as a functional food to control obesity.