Mulberry Leaf Extract Improves Metabolic Syndrome by Alleviating Lipid Accumulation In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a metabolic disease with multiple complications. Mulberry leaf extract (MLE) is rich in flavonoids and has great potential in alleviating glucose and lipid metabolism disorders. This study evaluated the effect and mechanism of MLE on the alleviation of MS. The components of the MLE were analyzed, and then the regulation of lipid metabolism by MLE in vitro and in vivo was determined. In a hepatocyte model of oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation, it was found that MLE alleviated lipid accumulation and decreased the expression of genes involved in lipogenesis. Furthermore, MLE improved obesity, insulin resistance, plasma lipid profile, and liver function in MS mice after a 15-week intervention. MLE decreased the expression of SREBP1, ACC, and FAS through the AMPK signaling pathway to inhibit lipid synthesis and increase the level of CPT1A to promote lipid decomposition to achieve its hypolipidemic effect. Meanwhile, MLE was also shown to affect the composition of the gut microbiota and the production of short-chain fatty acids, which contributed to the alleviation of lipid accumulation. Our results suggest that MLE can improve MS by improving lipid metabolism through multiple mechanisms and can be developed into dietary supplements for the improvement of MS.

Comprehensive multi-omics analysis revealed that mulberry leaf dietary supplementation can improve the lipo-nutritional quality of pork and regulate gut microbiota in pigs

“…In addition, mulberry leaves may regulate fat deposition through the de novo fatty acid synthesis (DNL) pathway. ACC and FASN are the key genes upstream of the DNL pathway, we found that mulberry leaves had a significant inhibitory effect on ACC in backfat tissue, which may be one of the reasons for the inhibition of backfat deposition by mulberry leaves [27,28]. In addition, related studies have found that mulberry leaf polysaccharides (MLP) may increase the activity of brown adipocytes, accelerate fat consumption, and inhibit fat deposition, which may be one of the mechanisms by which MLP inhibits backfat deposition [29].…”

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) Leaf Extract and 1-Deoxynojirimycin Improve Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance via the Activation of IRS-1/PI3K/Akt Pathway in db/db Mice

“…Many studies have found that mulberry leaf extract (MLE) is known to have therapeutic potential for numerous diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [ 21 , 23 ]. Furthermore, several studies have reported that MLE alleviates insulin resistance, and the active components of Morus alba L. have anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic effects, suggesting a therapeutic effect on T2DM [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, there have been no reports of the regulatory processes involving the IRS1/PI3K/Akt pathway in the skeletal muscle of leptin receptor-deficient db / db mice commonly used to study the T2DM mechanism.…”

Dendrobium officinale Polysaccharide Prevents Diabetes via the Regulation of Gut Microbiota in Prediabetic Mice

“…The procedure of the induction of the prediabetic mice with HFHSD and STZ (50 mg/kg) was applied according to the previous protocol with modifications [ 8 , 29 ]. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed on Days 7, 14, and 21 after the STZ injection.…”

“…Western blotting was performed according to the procedures previously published [ 29 ]. The primary antibodies used in this experiment included TLR4 (1:1000), IKKα (1:1000), p-IκBα (1:1000), NF-κB p65 (1:1000), and β-actin (1:1000).…”

“…The quantitative analysis of fecal SCFAs was performed as previously described with slight modifications [ 29 ]. About 50 mg of mouse feces was weighed with 1 mL of anhydrous methanol and vortex shook for 10 s. The mixture was then centrifuged at 10,000× g for 5 min.…”