Effects of feeding a diet containing Gymnema sylvestre extract: Attenuating progression of obesity in C57BL/6J mice.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of Gymnema sylvestre extract (GS) on initial anti-obesity, liver injury, and glucose homeostasis induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).


METHODS
The dry powder of GS was extracted with methanol, and gymnemic acid was identified by high performance liquid chromatography as deacyl gymnemic acid. Male C57BL/6J mice that fed on either a normal diet, normal diet containing 1 g/kg GS (CON+GS), HFD, or HFD containing 1.0 g/kg GS (HFD + GS) for 4 weeks were used to test the initial anti-obesity effect of GS. Body weight gain and food intake, and serum levels about lipid and liver injury markers were measured. Histopathology of adipose tissue and liver stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and oil-red O were analyzed. After 4 weeks of GS extract feeding, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed.


RESULTS
The methanol extracts of GS exerted significant anti-obesity effects in HFD + GS group. They decreased body weight gain, a lower food and energy efficiency ratio, and showed lower serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-cholesterol and leptin compared with the HFD group. The decreases of abdominal as well as epididymal fat weight and adipocyte hypertrophy, lipid droplets in liver, and serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were also observed. The CON + GS group showed an effect of glucose homeostasis compared to the CON group.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that GS provide the possibility as a key role in an initial anti-obesity effects feeding with a HFD.
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Hyeon-Jeong
HJ
Kim
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Seong-Ho
SH
Hong
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Seung-Hee
SH
Chang
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Graduate Group of Tumor Biology, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Sanghwa
S
Kim
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Ah Young
AY
Lee
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Yoonjeong
Y
Jang
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Orkhonselenge
O
Davaadamdin
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Kyeong-Nam
KN
Yu
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Ji-Eun
JE
Kim
Laboratory of Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Graduate Group of Tumor Biology, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon 16229, Republic of Korea; Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon 443-270, Republic of Korea; Institute of GreenBio Science Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do 25354, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: mchotox@snu.ac.kr.
Myung-Haing
MH
Cho
Adipocyte; Body weight gain; Gymnema sylvestre extract; High-fat diet; Liver injury; Obesity