Betulinic acid inhibits high-fat diet-induced obesity and improves energy balance by activating AMPK

Metabolic syndromes are prevalent worldwide and result in various complications including obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Betulinic acid (BA) is a naturally occurring triterpenoid that has anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesized that treatment with BA may result in decreased body weight gain, adiposity and hepatic steatosis in a diet-induced mouse model of obesity. Mice fed a high-fat diet and treated with BA showed less weight gain and tissue adiposity without any change in calorie intake.

Source: Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases : NMCD - January 9, 2019 Category: Nutrition Authors: Kyu-Dae Kim, Hoe-Yune Jung, Hye Guk Ryu, Bobae Kim, Jongsu Jeon, Hee Young Yoo, Choon Ho Park, Bo-Hwa Choi, Chang-Kee Hyun, Kyong-Tai Kim, Sungsoon Fang, Jong-Bae Kim, Seung Hee Yang Source Type: research