Yang Yujiao, Tian Aofei, Wu Zhen, Wei Yao, Hu Xuguang, Guo Jiao
Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No. 280, East Ring Road, Guangzhou University Town, Guangdong 510006, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Mar 27;2021:6623379. doi: 10.1155/2021/6623379. eCollection 2021.
Finger citron (FC) is one of many traditional Chinese herbs that have been used to treat obesity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of FC on obese rats. Rats were fed with a high-fat diet as a model of obesity and treated with FC at three different dosages for 6 weeks. Pathology in liver tissue was observed. Glucose levels, lipids levels, and inflammatory indicators in serum were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, the expression of protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) pathway genes in rat colon tissue was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-PCR). Our result revealed that FC alleviates obesity by reducing body weight (BW) and waist circumference, managing inflammation and improving glycolipid metabolism, liver function, and liver lipid peroxidation in vivo. In addition, the mechanism of FC on obesity is possibly the stimulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion by activating the TGR5 pathway in intestinal endocrine cells. Our studies highlight the obesity reduction effects of FC and one of the mechanisms may be the activation of the TGR5 pathway in intestinal endocrine cells.
佛手是众多用于治疗肥胖症的传统中药之一。本研究旨在阐明佛手对肥胖大鼠的药理作用及机制。将大鼠喂以高脂饮食作为肥胖模型，并给予三种不同剂量的佛手治疗6周。观察肝组织病理学变化。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法评估血清中的葡萄糖水平、脂质水平和炎症指标。此外，通过逆转录-聚合酶链反应分析（RT-PCR）检测大鼠结肠组织中蛋白偶联受体5（TGR5）通路基因的表达。我们的结果显示，佛手通过减轻体重（BW）和腰围、控制炎症以及改善体内糖脂代谢、肝功能和肝脏脂质过氧化来减轻肥胖。此外，佛手治疗肥胖症的机制可能是通过激活肠道内分泌细胞中的TGR5通路来刺激胰高血糖素样肽-1（GLP-1）的分泌。我们的研究突出了佛手的减肥作用，其机制之一可能是激活肠道内分泌细胞中的TGR5通路。
