Anti-obesity Effect of Dioscorea oppositifolia Extract in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice and Its Chemical Characterization

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin 2016/03/01, Vol.39(3), pp.409-414
• Main Authors: Jeong, Eun Ju, Jegal, Jonghwan, Ahn, Jongmin, Kim, Jinwoong, Yang, Min Hye
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1-Butanol - chemistry; Adipose Tissue - drug effects; Adipose Tissue - growth & development; Animals; anti-obesity; Anti-Obesity Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Obesity Agents - therapeutic use; Cholesterol - blood; Diet, High-Fat; Dioscorea; Dioscorea oppositifolia; fecal fat excretion; Feces - chemistry; Female; high-fat diet-induced obese mouse; Lipid Metabolism - drug effects; Liver - drug effects; Liver - growth & development; Liver - metabolism; Mice, Inbred ICR; Obesity - blood; Obesity - drug therapy; Organ Size - drug effects; phytochemical analysis; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Rhizome - chemistry; Triglycerides - blood
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b15-00849

Dioscorea oppositifolia is a well-known edible and traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. In our previous study, D. oppositifolia exhibited both pancreatic lipase inhibition and an anti-adipogenesis effect in vitro. This study was performed to investigate the anti-obesity effect of D. oppositifolia on high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Female ICR mice were fed a high-fat diet with the 100 mg/kg of D. oppositifolia n-BuOH extract for 8 weeks. The high-fat diet mice received the 15 mg/kg Orlistat orally as a positive control. The body weight, parametrial adipose tissue weight, and the levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol in blood serum of female ICR mice were significantly decreased by feeding a high-fat diet with the n-BuOH extract of D. oppositifolia. An inhibitory effect of D. oppositifolia extract on dietary fat absorption was also clearly shown. The D. oppositifolia sample was found to contain 3,5-dimethoxy-2,7-phenanthrenediol and (3R,5R)-3,5-dihydroxy-1,7-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,5-heptanediol as main components based on its phytochemical analysis. The present study is the first report of the anti-obesity effect by D. oppositifolia n-BuOH extract using an established disease model. The increase in fecal fat excretion by treatment of D. oppositifolia may be an effective approach for treating obesity and related diseases.