Edible Red Seaweed Campylaephora Hypnaeoides J. Agardh Alleviates Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders in Mice by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response

Abstract

Background: The obesity epidemic has become a serious public health problem in many countries worldwide. Seaweed has few calories and is rich in active nutritional components necessary for health promotion and disease prevention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Campylaephora hypnaeoides J. Agardh (C. hypnaeoides), an edible seaweed traditionally eaten in Japan, on high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity and related metabolic diseases in mice.Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the following groups: normal diet group, HF diet group, HF diet supplemented with 2% C. hypnaeoides, and HF diet supplemented with 6% C. hypnaeoides. After 13 weeks of treatment, the weight of the white adipose tissue and liver, and the serum levels of glucose, insulin, adipokines, and lipids were measured. Hepatic levels of adipokines, oxidant markers, and antioxidant markers were also determined. Insulin resistance was assessed by a glucose tolerance test. Polysaccharides of C. hypnaeoides were purified and their molecular weight was determined by high-performance seize exclusion chromatography. The anti-inflammatory effects of purified polysaccharides were evaluated in RAW264.7 cells. Results: Treatment of HF diet-induced obese mice with C. hypnaeoides for 13 weeks suppressed the increase in body weight and white adipose tissue weight. It also ameliorated insulin resistance, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and hypercholesterolemia. The ingestion of an HF diet increased serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), while it decreased serum adiponectin levels. In the liver, an HF diet markedly increased the MDA, TNF-a, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, while it decreased glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). These metabolic changes induced by HF diet feeding were ameliorated by dietary C. hypnaeoides. Purified polysaccharides and ethanol extract from C. hypnaeoides inhibited the lipopolysaccharide-induced overproduction of nitric oxide and TNF-a in macrophage RAW264.7 cells. Conclusions: The present results indicated that C. hypnaeoides was able to alleviate HF diet-induced metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and hypercholesterolemia by attenuating inflammation and improving the antioxidant capacity in mice. Polysaccharides and polyphenols may be involved in these beneficial effects of C. hypnaeoides.

The anti‐obesity and anti‐diabetic effects of the edible seaweed Gloiopeltis furcata (Postels et Ruprecht) J. Agardh in mice fed a high‐fat diet

“…Antioxidative phenolic compounds, such as phlorotannins from marine sources, have been reported to exhibit anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects in animal models (Mateos et al, 2020). We have previously reported that the anti-obesity effects of brown and red seaweed consumed in Japan are related to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (Murakami et al, 2021(Murakami et al, , 2022.…”