Notoginsenoside Ft1 acts as a TGR5 agonist but FXR antagonist to alleviate high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice.

Obesity and its associated complications are highly related to a current public health crisis around the world. A growing body of evidence has indicated that G-protein coupled bile acid (BA) receptor TGR5 (also known as Gpbar-1) is a potential drug target to treat obesity and associated metabolic disorders. We have identified notoginsenoside Ft1 (Ft1) from as an agonist of TGR5 . However, the pharmacological effects of Ft1 on diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and the underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Here we show that Ft1 (100 mg/100 diet) increased adipose lipolysis, promoted fat browning in inguinal adipose tissue and induced glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in the ileum of wild type but not obese mice. In addition, Ft1 elevated serum free and taurine-conjugated bile acids (BAs) by antagonizing transcriptional activities in the ileum to activate in the adipose tissues. The metabolic benefits of Ft1 were abolished in mice which have much lower BA levels. These results identify Ft1 as a single compound with opposite activities on two key BA receptors to alleviate high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice.