Extract of Acalypha australis L. inhibits lipid accumulation and ameliorates HFD-induced obesity in mice through regulating adipose differentiation by decreasing PPARγ and CEBP/α expression

Lang You; Fengxia Li; Yan Sun; Liang Luo; Jian Qin; Tao Wang; Yuchen Liu; Ruogu Lai; Ruohan Li; Xiaoran Guo; Qiuyan Mai; Yihang Pan; Jianrong Xu; Ningning Li

doi:10.29219/fnr.v65.424

Extract of Acalypha australis L. inhibits lipid accumulation and ameliorates HFD-induced obesity in mice through regulating adipose differentiation by decreasing PPARγ and CEBP/α expression

Food Nutr Res. 2021 Mar 1:65. doi: 10.29219/fnr.v65.424. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Lang You¹, Fengxia Li^{2

3}, Yan Sun¹, Liang Luo⁴, Jian Qin³, Tao Wang², Yuchen Liu², Ruogu Lai⁵, Ruohan Li², Xiaoran Guo², Qiuyan Mai², Yihang Pan², Jianrong Xu¹, Ningning Li²

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, China.
² Tomas Lindahl Nobel Laureate Laboratory, Precision Medicine Research Centre, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
³ Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
⁵ Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a principal risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Natural plants and/or foods play an important role in the management of obesity. Acalypha australis L. (AAL) is a kind of potherb popular among Asian populations, and it is also consumed as a food ingredient and traditional herbal medicine.

Objective: We investigated the effects of water extract from AAL on high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and 3T3-L1 adipocytes to develop a new functional food material.

Design: Nine-week-old male mice were randomly divided into control (chow diet, n = 6) and HFD (n = 30) group. From 12-weeks onward, mice in the HFD group were further separated into model (saline, 6 mL/kg), simvastatin (0.11 mg/mL, 6 mL/kg), and AAL treatment (low, middle, and high dosage: 300, 600, and 900 mg/kg) group, with 6 animals per group, while mice in the control group were treated with saline (6 mL/kg). Food intake, body/fat weight, liver/kidney indexes, and lipid profiles were determined. Tissues were fixed with formalin for pathological examination. Western blotting and PCR were performed to evaluate the protein and mRNA expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Oil Red O staining was used to determine lipid accumulation.

Results: AAL administration significantly suppressed body weight gain, and reduced fat pad weight and Lee's index in obese mice, but had no effect on liver/kidney index. AAL also reduced serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-C and increased HDL-C levels. Histological analysis revealed that AAL significantly ameliorated lipid accumulation in the liver and subcutaneous adipose tissue. In vitro, Oil Red O staining showed that AAL inhibited adipose differentiation by down-regulating the gene and protein expression of PPARγ and C/EBPα. AAL also reversed HFD-induced intestinal dysbacteriosis.

Conclusion: AAL water-soluble extract has a significant anti-adipogenic effect in the HFD-induced obese mice model.

Keywords: 3T3-L1; Acalypha australis L.; adipogenesis; obesity; potherb.