The Protective Effects of Danggui-Baizhu-Tang on High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice by Activating Thermogenesis

Abstract

Danggui-Baizhu-Tang (DBT), a traditional Chinese medicine decoction, was used for decreasing serum TG and TC remarkably. However, effect of weight control and action mechanism remains confused. In this study, to evaluate the anti-obesity effects, different gradient concentration of DBT (0.59, 1.17 g/kg) or Orlistat (Orl, 15.6 mg/kg; positive control) were administrated by gavage for 8 weeks in C57BL/6J mice which were pretreated with chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 3 months. After administration, significant decrease of body weight and food utilization was observed. It was indicated that concentration of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum were reduced strikingly, as well as accumulation of lipid droplets in liver. Meanwhile, DBT treatment could also decrease weight of white adipose tissue (WAT) and size of adipocytes, whereas increase weight of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in mice. Moreover, it was revealed that DBT could elevate rectal temperature by raising expression of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α), which were attributed to phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Furthermore, TNF-α and IL-6, obesity-related inflammatory cytokines, were decreased. In conclusion, DBT could stimulate phosphorylation of AMPK to raise expression of UCP1 and PGC-1α, and activate thermogenesis to prevent obesity.

Protein Kinase D2 drives chylomicron‐mediated lipid transport in the intestine and promotes obesity

“…Moreover, orlistat and related drugs do not protect from the cardiovascular complications often associated with obesity and they ameliorate T2D only to a limited extent. Inhibition of PKDs in the intestine of mice or deletion and inactivation of PKD2 in animals led to similar protection from body weight gain as described previously for orlistat (Murtaza et al, 2017; Zhao et al, 2018), importantly, while we found that PKD2 inactivation or inhibition of PKDs increased stool lipid content, without any associated overt gastrointestinal disturbances or symptoms. A direct comparison of both drugs under standardized conditions would provide an overview of their relative efficiency and side effects.…”

Coicis Semen formula treating monosodium glutamate-induced obesity in mice by alleviating hypothalamic injury

“…After Coicis Semen formula treating, rectal and BAT temperature were obviously elevated. Rectal temperature is corresponding to core body temperature (Meyer, Ootsuka, & Romanovsky, 2017), and based on our previous study (Zhao, Zhu, Cong, Yang, & Zhu, 2018), we speculated that energy expenditure was higher in Coicis semen formula-treated mice than that of the model mice.…”

Alisma orientalis Beverage Treats Atherosclerosis by Regulating Gut Microbiota in ApoE-/- Mice

“…Chinese medicines containing Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. reduced the serum of total cholesterol (TC) and inflammatory cytokines and upgraded microbiota of the gut (Zhang et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2018).…”