ABSTRACT
Obesity has recently risen and become a serious health concern in Korea according to the westernized diet and altered lifestyle. Hence, there is a growing interest in the supplementation of phytochemicals to find a safe and effective functional ingredient to treat obesity. Spergularia marina Griseb (SM) has traditionally been used as a natural herb against chronic diseases in Korea. In this study, we investigated the antiobesity effects of SM in vitro and in vivo. SM ethanol extract (SME) inhibited proliferation and differentiation in murine adipocytes and primary porcine pre-adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. In the in vivo study, supplementation of SM powder (SMP) remarkably attenuated fat accumulation in HFD-induced obese rats. In addition, SMP supplementation improved lipid profiles in the serum and tissues of high-fat induced obese rats. Collectively, these data indicated that SME exhibited antiobesity effects by modulating adipogenesis and lipolysis. Furthermore, SMP could be developed as an obesity-induced metabolic syndrome treatment.
Subject(s)
Adipocytes/drug effects , Caryophyllaceae/chemistry , Obesity/chemically induced , Obesity/drug therapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , 3T3-L1 Cells , Animals , Cell Differentiation/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cell Survival , Lipids/blood , Liver/drug effects , Liver/enzymology , Male , Mice , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Rats , Rats, Sprague-DawleyABSTRACT
Spergularia marina Griseb. (SM) is a halophyte that grows in mud flats. The aerial portions of SM have been eaten as vegetables and traditionally used to prevent chronic diseases in Korea. However, there has been no scientific report that demonstrates the pharmacological effects of SM. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is important for the maintenance of glucose and energy homeostasis through acting as a signal in peripheral and neural systems. To discover a functional food for regulating glucose and energy homeostasis, we evaluated the effect of an aqueous ethanolic extract (AEE) of SM on GLP-1 release from enteroendocrine NCI-H716 cells. In addition, we explored the Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) agonist activity of AEE-SM in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells transiently transfected with human TGR5. As a result, treatment of NCI-H716 cells with AEE-SM increased GLP-1 secretion and intracellular Ca(2+) and cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels in a dose-dependent manner. Transfection of NCI-H716 cells with TGR5-specific small interference RNA inhibited AEE-SM-induced GLP-1 secretion and the increase in Ca(2+) and cAMP levels. Moreover, AEE-SM showed that the TGR5 agonist activity in CHO-K1 cells transiently transfected with TGR5. The results suggest that AEE-SM might be a candidate for a functional food to regulate glucose and energy homeostasis.