Physalis alkekengi Exhibits Antiobesity Effects in Mice with Potential of Inducing White Adipose Tissue Browning

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an ethanol extract of Physalis alkekengi (PA) and its mechanistic pathway of action at the molecular level for its antiobesity properties. Four-week old male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were acclimatized for a week before starting the high-fat diet (HFD) for 2 weeks to induce obesity, followed by 8 more weeks of oral administration of 10 mg/kg orlistat and 300 mg/kg of PA extract, along with HFD. Body weights of the mice and feed and water intake were recorded weekly. After a total of 12 weeks, mice were euthanized, and blood, liver, and adipose tissues were harvested for further analysis. Administration of PA extract inhibited the progression of obesity by reducing weight gain, weight of adipose tissue, and normalizing serum triglyceride, glucose, total cholesterol, highdensity lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase. PA extract prevented the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by HFD and prevented the enlargement of liver. Phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase a increased while phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase was reduced. The browning gene uncoupling protein 1 expression was also increased by PA extract treatment. Our findings revealed that the antiobesity properties of PA extract may be mediated by browning of white adipose tissue.

Anti-Obesity Effects of Polyphenol Intake: Current Status and Future Possibilities

“…Preliminaries studies have reported presence of several active compounds, including secosteroids called physalins, and flavonoids [ 137 , 138 ]. Single compounds found in Physalis alkekengi should be studied separately to identify the main compound exerting in vivo antiobesity properties [ 139 ]. Persimmon ( Diospyros kaki ) fruit is native to China, and its cultivation extends to other part of East Asia, including Japan, where it is very popular, and it has high proanthocyanidin-type content [ 140 ].…”

Potensi Penggunaan Essential Oil dari Tumbuhan di Indonesia dalam Menurunkan Berat Badan

“…[43,45] Alkaloid ditemukan pada konsentrasi minimum di hampir semua tanaman. [40,41,42] Penghambatan adipogenesis sebenarnya masih perlu diteliti lebih spesifik mengenai kedua senyawa ini. [24]…”