Anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from Panax japonicus rhizomes - PubMed (original) (raw)

Anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from Panax japonicus rhizomes

Li-Kun Han et al. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2005.

Abstract

Background: The rhizomes of Panax japonicus are used as a folk medicine for treatment of life-style related diseases such as arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus as a substitute for ginseng roots in China and Japan. Obesity is closely associated with life-style-related diseases. This study was performed to clarify whether chikusetsusaponins prevent obesity induced in mice by a high-fat diet for 9 weeks.

Methods: We performed two in vivo experiments. In one, female ICR mice were fed a high-fat diet with or without 1 or 3% chikusetsusaponins isolated from P. japonicus rhizomes for 9 weeks. In the other, lipid emulsion with or without chikusetsusaponins was administered orally to male Wistar rats, and then the plasma triacylglycerol level was measured 0.5 to 5 h after the orally administered lipid emulsion. For in vitro experiments, the inhibitory effects of total chikusetsusaponins and various purified chikusetsusaponins on pancreatic lipase activity were determined by measuring the rate of release of oleic acid from triolein in an assay system using triolein emulsified with lecithin.

Results: Total chikusetsusaponins prevented the increases in body weight and parametrial adipose tissue weight induced by a high-fat diet. Furthermore, consumption of a high-fat diet containing 1 or 3% total chikusetsusaponins significantly increased the fecal content and triacylglycerol level at day 3 compared with the high-fat diet groups. Total chikusetsusaponins inhibited the elevation of the plasma triacylglycerol level 2 h after the oral administration of the lipid emulsion. Total chikusetsusaponins, chikusetsusaponin III, 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin IV and 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin V inhibited the pancreatic lipase activity.

Conclusion: The anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from P. japonicus rhizomes in mice fed a high-fat diet may be partly mediated through delaying the intestinal absorption of dietary fat by inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity. The present study clearly indicated that the saponin fractions of P. japonicus rhizomes had a significant anti-obesity action and supports the traditional usage as a substitute drug for ginseng roots.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

The structure of various chikusetsusaponins

Figure 2

Figure 2

Effects of chikusetsusaponins and orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) on body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet for 9 weeks. Open circles, normal groups; solid circles, high-fat diet groups; open squares, high-fat plus 1% total chikusetsusaponin diet groups; solid squares, high-fat plus 3% total chikusetsusaponin diet groups; solid triangle, high-fat plus 0.012% orlistat diet. Values are means ± S.E. of 11–26 mice. * Significantly different from the high-fat diet group, P < 0.05.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Effects of total chikusetsusaponins and orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) on rat plasma triacylglycerol levels after oral administration of a lipid emulsion. Open circles, lipid emulsion; solid circles, lipid emulsion plus total chikusetsusaponins (1000 mg/kg) and open squares, lipid emulsion plus orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) (45 mg/kg). Values are means ± S.E. of 4 rats. * Significantly different from lipid-emulsion-only treated group, P < 0.05.

Figure 4

Figure 4

Effects of total chikusetsusaponins, various chikusetsusaponins and orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) on pancreatic lipase activity. Values are means ± S.E. of 4 experiments. a) Solid circles, methanol extract; open circles, total chikusetsusaponins; open squares, orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) was used as a positive control. b) Open circles, chikusetsusaponin III; solid circles, chikusetsusaponin IV; open squares, 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin IV; solid squares, 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin V.

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