Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 May 23;236:173-182. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.03.001. Epub 2019 Mar 6.
Cynometra cauliflora Linn. belongs to the Fabaceae family and is known locally in Malaysia as nam-nam. Traditionally, a decoction of the C. cauliflora leaves is used for treating hyperlipidemia and diabetes.
This study aims to investigate the anti-obesity and lipid lowering effects of ethanolic extract of C. cauliflora leaves and its major compound (vitexin) in C57BL/6 obese mice induced by high-fat diet (HFD), as well as to further identify the molecular mechanism underlying this action.
Male C57BL/6 mice were fed with HFD (60% fat) for 16 weeks to become obese. The treatment started during the last 8 weeks of HFD feeding and the obese mice were treated with C. cauliflora leaf extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg/day, orlistat (10 mg/kg) and vitexin (10 mg/kg).
The oral administration of C. cauliflora (400 and 200 mg/kg) and vitexin significantly reduced body weight, adipose tissue and liver weight and lipid accumulation in the liver compared to control HFD group. Both doses of C. cauliflora also significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased serum triglyceride, LDL, lipase, IL-6, peptide YY, resistin levels, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperleptinemia compared to the control HFD group. Moreover, C. cauliflora significantly up-regulated the expression of adiponectin, Glut4, Mtor, IRS-1 and InsR genes, and significantly decreased the expression of Lepr in white adipose tissue. Furthermore, C. cauliflora significantly up-regulated the expression of hypothalamus Glut4, Mtor and NF-kB genes. GC-MS analysis of C. cauliflora leaves detected the presence of phytol, vitamin E and β-sitosterol. Besides, the phytochemical evaluation of C. cauliflora leaves showed the presence of flavonoid, saponin and phenolic compounds.
This study shows interesting outcomes of C. cauliflora against HFD-induced obesity and associated metabolic abnormalities. Therefore, the C. cauliflora extract could be a potentially effective agent for obesity management and its related metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia.
黄桐属植物属于豆科植物，在马来西亚当地被称为 nam-nam。传统上，黄桐属植物的叶子煎剂用于治疗高血脂和糖尿病。
本研究旨在探讨黄桐属植物叶乙醇提取物及其主要化合物（牡荆素）对高脂肪饮食（HFD）诱导的 C57BL/6 肥胖小鼠的抗肥胖和降血脂作用，并进一步探讨其作用的分子机制。
雄性 C57BL/6 小鼠喂食 HFD（60%脂肪）16 周，使其肥胖。治疗始于 HFD 喂养的最后 8 周，肥胖小鼠分别以黄桐属植物叶提取物 200 和 400mg/kg/天、奥利司他（10mg/kg）和牡荆素（10mg/kg）进行治疗。
与对照组 HFD 组相比，黄桐属植物（400 和 200mg/kg）和牡荆素的口服给药显著降低了体重、脂肪组织和肝脏重量以及肝脏中的脂质积累。两种剂量的黄桐属植物还显著（P≤0.05）降低了血清甘油三酯、LDL、脂肪酶、IL-6、肽 YY、抵抗素水平、高血糖、高胰岛素血症和高瘦素血症。此外，黄桐属植物显著上调了白色脂肪组织中脂联素、Glut4、Mtor、IRS-1 和 InsR 基因的表达，并显著下调了 Lepr 的表达。此外，黄桐属植物显著上调了下丘脑 Glut4、Mtor 和 NF-kB 基因的表达。黄桐属植物叶片的 GC-MS 分析检测到植醇、维生素 E 和β-谷甾醇的存在。此外，黄桐属植物叶片的植物化学评价表明存在类黄酮、皂苷和酚类化合物。
本研究显示黄桐属植物对 HFD 诱导的肥胖及其相关代谢异常具有有趣的作用。因此，黄桐属植物提取物可能是肥胖管理及其相关代谢紊乱（如胰岛素抵抗和高血脂）的潜在有效药物。
