Green tea changes serum and liver metabolomic profiles in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity.

SCOPE: Green tea (GT) consumption helps to prevent and control obesity by stimulating hepatic lipid metabolism. However, GT-induced changes in serum and liver metabolomes associated with the anti-obesity effects are not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to identify and validate metabolomic profiles in the livers and sera of GT-fed obese mice to elucidate the relationship between GT consumption and obesity prevention. METHODS AND RESULTS: Serum and liver metabolites were analyzed in mice fed normal diet, high-fat diet (HFD), HFD with GT, and HFD with crude catechins, using LC-quadrupole TOF MS. The addition of 1% GT to HFD reduced adipose tissue and the levels of blood triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and leptin elevated in HFD-fed mice. We proposed an HFD-induced obesity pathway and validated it by investigating the key regulatory enzymes of mitochondrial ß-oxidation: carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 and -2, acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase, and acetyl-coenzyme A acyltransferase. The results showed that HFD-induced abnormal mitochondrial ß-oxidation was moderated by the consumption of caffeine- and theanine-enriched GT. CONCLUSION: Results of LC/MS-based metabolomic analysis of obese mice showed changes associated with abnormal lipid and energy metabolism, which were alleviated by GT intake, indicating the mechanism underlying the anti-obesity effects of GT.

Neuroprotective effects of the cyanidin-3-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside isolated from mulberry fruit against cerebral ischemia.

This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of cyanidin-3-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside (C3G) from the mulberry fruits on neuronal cell damage. A 1% HCl-MeOH mulberry fruit extract was shown to have a cytoprotective effect on PC12 cells that had been exposed to hydrogen peroxide. The extract inhibited the cerebral ischemic damage caused by oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) in PC12 cells. The neuroprotective effect of the mulberry fruit extract was further demonstrated in vivo using a mouse-brain-injury model with a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). C3G was isolated as a neuroprotective constituent from the mulberry fruit extract. Compared with the control group, C3G had neuroprotective effects on the PC12 cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide in vitro and on cerebral ischemic damage in vivo.

(-)-3,5-Dicaffeoyl-muco-quinic acid isolated from Aster scaber contributes to the differentiation of PC12 cells: through tyrosine kinase cascade signaling.

Aster scaber T. (Asteraceae) has been used in traditional Korean and Chinese medicine to treat bruises, snakebites, headaches, and dizziness. (-)-3,5-Dicaffeoyl-muco-quinic acid (DQ) isolated from A. scaber induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. It has been reported that the activation of the extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk 1/2) and phosphoinositide 3 (PI3) kinase plays a crucial role in the NGF-induced differentiation of PC12 cells. This study showed that the effect of DQ on neurite outgrowth is mediated via the Erk 1/2 and PI3 kinase-dependent pathways like NGF. Furthermore, DQ stimulated the phosphorylation of Trk A. Overall, DQ elicited the differentiation of PC12 cells through Trk A phosphorylation followed by Erk 1/2 and PI3 kinase activation.

Phospholipids from Bombycis corpus and their neurotrophic effects.

Three phospholipids (4-6) and three aromatic amines (1-3) were obtained from the methanol extract of Bombycis corpus. Based on spectral data, their structures have been elucidated as nicotiamide (1), cytidine (2), adenine (3), 1-O-(9Z-octadecenoyl)-2-O-(8Z,11Z-octadecadienoyl) sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (4), 1,2-di-O-hexadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (5) and 1,2-di-O-9Z-octadecenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (6). We examined the effects of compounds on synthesis of NGF in cultured astrocytes. By RT-PCR analysis, expresison of NGF mRNA in astrocytes cultured in serum-starvation increased after the addition of phospholipid (10 microM). The NGF content in the culture medium was significantly increased by compound 5, compared with the control value. These results suggest that three phospholipid compounds isolated from the methanol extract of Bombycis corpus may exert neurotrophic effects by stimulation of NGF synthesis in astrocytes.