Evidence of anti-obesity effects of the pomegranate leaf extract in high-fat diet induced obese mice.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the anti-obesity effects of the pomegranate leaf extract (PLE) in a mouse model of high-fat diet induced obesity and hyperlipidemia.


METHODS
For the anti-obesity experiment, male and female ICR mice were fed with a high-fat diet to induce obesity. When the weight of the high-fat diet group was 20% higher than the normal diet group, the animals were treated with 400 or 800 mg/kg/day of PLE for 5 weeks. Body weight and daily food intake were measured regularly during the experimental period. The various adipose pads were weighed and serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), glucose and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured after 5 weeks, treatment with PLE. In the fat absorption experiment, both the normal and obese mice were given 0.5 ml lipid emulsion and PLE at a dose of 800 mg/kg at the same time. Serial serum TG levels were measured at times 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 h after the treatment. TGs in fecal excretions were measured after the mice were orally given a lipid emulsion. Effects of PLE and its isolated compounds (ellagic acid and tannic acid) on pancreatic lipase activity were examined in vitro.


RESULTS
The PLE-treated groups showed a significant decrease in body weight, energy intake and various adipose pad weight percents and serum, TC, TG, glucose levels and TC/HDL-C ratio after 5 weeks treatment. Furthermore, PLE significantly attenuated the raising of the serum TG level and inhibited the intestinal fat absorption in mice given a fat emulsion orally. PLE showed a significant difference in decreasing the appetite of obese mice fed a high-fat diet, but showed no effect in mice fed a normal diet.


CONCLUSIONS
PLE can inhibit the development of obesity and hyperlipidemia in high-fat diet induced obese mice. The effects appear to be partly mediated by inhibiting the pancreatic lipase activity and suppressing energy intake. PLE may be a novel appetite suppressant that only affects obesity owing to a high-fat diet.
Lei
F
F
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China.
Zhang
X N
XN
Wang
W
W
Xing
D M
DM
Xie
W D
WD
Su
H
H
Du
L J
LJ
D000042:Absorption; D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004655:Emulsions / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D008049:Lipase / Q000378:metabolism; D029561:Lythraceae; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000201:enzymology; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018515:Plant Leaves; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D004041:Dietary Fats; D004655:Emulsions; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014280:Triglycerides; D008049:Lipase