Anti-Obesity Effects of Onion Extract in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

Abstract

Anti-obesity effects of onion extract were determined in obesity and diabetes-prone Zucker diabetic fatty rats by measuring the efficacy of markers concerned with diabetes and obesity. Body and adipose tissue weights in 5% of onion extract-fed group were found to be significantly lower than the control group without onion extract. Fasting blood glucose and HOMA-IR levels were also improved, although the serum insulin and leptin levels did not show any remarkable difference. Serum triglyceride and free fatty acid levels in both the 3% and 5%-fed group were found to be reduced compared to the control group. Additionally the feeding of the onion extract increased the glucose tolerance. These results suggest that dietary onion extract is beneficial for improving diabetes by decreasing lipid levels. We also examined differentiation ability of rat white preadipocyte cells using the onion extract and its sulfur-containing components. Cycloalliin, S-methyl-L-cysteine, S-propyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide, dimethyl trisulfide, especially S-methyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide were reported to be effective in inhibiting formation of oil drop in the cells, suggesting that these compounds may be involved in the anti-obesity effect of the onion extract.

Effects of dietary onion (Allium cepa) extract supplementation on performance, apparent total tract retention of nutrients, blood profile and meat quality of broiler chicks

“…Fresh yellow onions ( Allium cepa ) purchased from local market were extracted according to the reported procedure [11]. In brief, fresh onion bulbs were cleaned, peeled and cut into small pieces.…”

Change in Flavonoid Composition and Antioxidative Activity during Fermentation of Onion (Allium cepa L.) by Leuconostoc mesenteroides with Different Salt Concentrations

“…Onion ( Allium cepa L.) is a highly consumed vegetable worldwide and has been recognized as the main supplemental source of flavonoids, especially quercetin (Q) (Moon and others ). There are many reports suggesting that the intake of onion has potential health benefits to humans, including antiobesity (Yoshinari and others ), antidiabetes (Jung and others ), anticardiovascular disease (Moon and others ), and anticancer effects (Dai and Mumper ). Several reports have attributed the beneficial effects of onion to the Q derivatives.…”

Quantitative Evaluation of the Pyruvic Acid Content in Onion Samples with a Fully Validated High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method

“…The recent literature is rich in both in vivo and in vitro studies reporting the anti-thrombotic-, [1] hypolipidemic-, [2,3] anti-diabetic-, [4,5] anti-obesity-, [6] antioxidant-, [7][8][9] anti-inflammatory-, [10] cancer chemopreventive-, [11] and antiparasitic- [12,13] properties of onion extracts. Moreover, some epidemiological studies suggest that a diet rich in onions may have a favorable effect on the risk of acute myocardial infarction [14] and benign prostatic hyperplasia.…”