Chrysin mitigated obesity by regulating energy intake and expenditure in rats

Abstract

Background and aim Chrysin is a flavonoid found in plant extracts from Passiflora species, honey and propolis. It has demonstrated anti-adipogenic activity in vitro but there are no studies substantiating the anti-obesity activity of chrysin in vivo . Experimental procedure The pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory potential of chrysin was determined by preliminary in silico screening and further confirmed by in vitro PL inhibitory assay and oral fat tolerance test (OFTT). The effect of chrysin on acute feed intake and sucrose preference test was determined in normal rats. Obesity was induced by feeding of high fructose diet (HFD) to the rats. The rats were divided into six groups: normal control, HFD control, orlistat and three doses of chrysin (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight). Body weight, body mass index (BMI), abdominal circumference/thoracic circumference (AC/TC) ratio, calorie intake, adiposity index, fecal cholesterol, locomotor activity and histopathology of the adipose tissue of the rats were evaluated. Results Chrysin showed good affinity to PL with competitive type of inhibition. It significantly reduced serum triglycerides in OFTT. Chrysin also significantly reduced acute feed intake and sucrose preference in rats. Chrysin significantly decreased the body weight, BMI, AC/TC ratio, adiposity index, calorie intake while it significantly increased the fecal cholesterol and locomotor activity of the rats. Chrysin was found to reduce the size of the adipocytes when compared to the HFD control group. Conclusion Thus, chrysin exerted anti-obesity effect by inhibiting PL, reducing sucrose preference, reducing calorie intake and increasing the locomotor activity of rats.

The Sweet and Salty Dietary Face of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease in Lebanon

“…Rats fed fructose over a long period gain weight and develop abdominal obesity (Tappy, 2018). In addition to that, feeding the rats with HFD increased the body weight of rats, BMI, AC/TC ratio, and adiposity index compared to the normal control group (Pai et al, 2020). Chronic fructose feeding renders animals leptin resistant.…”

Propolis: Chemical Constituents, Plant Origin, and Possible Role in the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity and Diabetes

“…85 In another study of rats fed a highfat diet containing chrysin (100 mg/kg) for 16 weeks, chrysin significantly attenuated weight gain, inhibited pancreatic lipase (a target of antiobesity drugs), and, quite interestingly, increased voluntary exercise. 86 Looking closely at these studies, it is clear that the majority of those in experimental animals used propolis extract, and the regions from which the propolis was harvested varied as well. Therefore, they have not properly validated the effects of propolis or the contributions of its components.…”

“…One such study showed that consumption of a high-fat diet containing CAPE (0.02%–0.5%) significantly reduced body weight and epididymal white adipose tissue weight in mice, and the authors presumed this effect was due to suppression of adipocyte differentiation . In another study of rats fed a high-fat diet containing chrysin (100 mg/kg) for 16 weeks, chrysin significantly attenuated weight gain, inhibited pancreatic lipase (a target of antiobesity drugs), and, quite interestingly, increased voluntary exercise …”

Flavonoids and cardiovascular risk factors: a review

“…It also restores the level of serum lipids; counteracts lipid peroxidation and limits accumulation of hepatic triglycerides (172). Chrysin significantly reduces body weight, BMI, abdominal circumference-thoracic circumference ratio, calorie intake while increasing locomotor activity and fecal cholesterol excretion in obese rats fed highfructose diet compared to control (173). More interestingly, apigenin administered to high fatdiet induced obese mice, reduces both body weight and visceral adipose tissues, binding to nonphosphorylated STAT3 in visceral adipose tissues, thus reducing its transcriptional activity.…”