Anti-obesity and fatty liver-preventing activities of Lonicera  caerulea in high-fat diet-fed mice.

Anti-obesity and fatty liver-preventing activities of Lonicera caerulea in high-fat diet-fed mice. Int J Mol Med. 2018 Sep 14;: Authors: Kim JW, Lee YS, Seol DJ, Cho IJ, Ku SK, Choi JS, Lee HJ Abstract Blue honeysuckle (BH, Lonicera caerulea) is used as a traditional medicine in Russia, Japan and China, but is not commonly considered as an edible berry in Europe, USA or Korea. BH has been revealed to decrease serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol (triglyceride or TG) levels through the activation of AMP‑activated protein kinase (AMPK), thus it is expected to be a health functional food and pharmaceutical agent for the prevention of non‑alcoholic liver damage, in addition to effects as a suppressor of hyperlipidemia and as an anti‑obesity agent. In the present study, the pharmacological activity of BH extract (BHe) was observed in high‑fat diet (HFD)‑fed mice. Significant increases in fat pad weight, body weight, fat accumulation (body and abdominal fat density, and thickness of the periovarian and abdominal wall) and serum biochemical levels (aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, γ‑glutamyltransferase, total cholesterol, low‑density lipoprotein and TG, with the exception of high‑density lipoprotein) were observed in HFD‑fed mice. In addition, increases in adipocyte hypertrophy, the area of steatohepatitis and hepatocyte hypertrophy were observed, whereas de...
Source: International Journal of Molecular Medicine - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Int J Mol Med Source Type: research