The resin from protium heptaphyllum prevents high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice : scientific evidence and potential mechanisms

Abstract

Herbal compounds rich in triterpenes are well known to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism and to have beneficial effects on metabolicdisorders.ThepresentstudyinvestigatedtheantiobesitypropertiesofresinfromProtiumheptaphyllum(RPH)andthe possible mechanisms in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 15 weeks. Mice treated with RPH showed decreases in body weight, netenergyintake,abdominalfataccumulation,plasmaglucose,amylase,lipase,triglycerides,andtotalcholesterolrelativetotheir respectivecontrols,whichwereRPHunfed.Additionally,RPHtreatment,whilesignificantlyelevatingtheplasmalevelofghrelin hormone,decreasedthelevelsofinsulin,leptin,andresistin.Besides,HFD-inducedincreasesinplasmalevelsofproinflammatory mediators TNF-𝛼, IL-6, and MCP-1 were significantly lowered by RPH. Furthermore, in vitro studies revealed that RPH could significantly inhibit the lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (measured by Oil-Red O staining) at concentrations up to 50𝜇g/mL.ThesefindingssuggestthattheantiobesepotentialofRPHislargelyduetoitsmodulatoryeffectsonvarioushormonal andenzymaticsecretionsrelatedtofatandcarbohydratemetabolismandtotheregulationofobesity-associatedinflammation.