• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Doenjang, Korean traditional fermented soybean paste has been reported to have an anti-obesity effect. Because adipose tissue is considered a major source of inflammatory signals, we investigated the protective effects of Doenjang and steamed soybean on oxidative stress and inflammation in adipose tissue of diet-induced obese mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low fat diet (LF), a high-fat diet (HF), or a high-fat containing Doenjang diet (DJ) or a high-fat containing steamed soybean diet (SS) for 11 weeks. RESULTS: Mice fed a DJ diet showed significantly lower body and adipose tissue weights than those in the HF group. Although no significant differences in adipocyte size and number were observed among the HF diet-fed groups, consumption of Doenjang alleviated the incidence of crown-like structures in adipose tissue. Consistently, we observed significantly reduced mRNA levels of oxidative stress markers (heme oxygenase-1 and $p40^{phox}$), pro-inflammatory adipokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and macrophage chemoattractant protein-1), macrophage markers (CD68 and CD11c), and a fibrosis marker (transforming growth factor beta 1) by Doenjang consumption. Gene expression of anti-inflammatory adipokine, adiponectin was significantly induced in the DJ group and the SS group compared to the HF group. The anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects observed in mice fed an SS diet were not as effective as those in mice fed a DJ diet, suggesting that the bioactive compounds produced during fermentation and aging may be involved in the observed health-beneficial effects of Doenjang. CONCLUSIONS: Doenjang alleviated oxidative stress and restored the dysregulated expression of adipokine genes caused by excess adiposity. Therefore, Doenjang may ameliorate systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in obesity via inhibition of inflammatory signals of adipose tissue.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 2016

This study was designed to investigate whether or not onion peel extract can lower blood lipid levels in rats exposed to cigarette smoke (CS) extract with a high-fat diet. Initially, male Sprague-Dawley rats were housed individually in a stainless steel, wire-bottomed cage with free access to AIN-93G diet. Rats were weight-matched and assigned to the following five groups: 1) control rats (CT) fed standard AIN-93G diet alone, 2) control rats exposed to CS extract (CT+CS), 3) high-fat group (HF) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard and 0.2% cholesterol, 4) high-fat group exposed to CS extract (HF+CS) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard and 0.2% cholesterol plus CS extract, and 5) high-fat plus onion peel (OP) extract group exposed to CS extract (HF+CS+OP) fed standard AIN-93 diet supplemented with 3% lard, 0.2% cholesterol, and onion peel extract (20 mg/17 g diet) plus CS extract. Using this feeding protocol, all animals completely consumed their respective diets throughout the 6 week duration. Blood was collected via the orbital sinus at weeks 0, 3, and 6, following overnight food deprivation. OP extract feeding resulted in significant reductions in blood triglyceride, total cholesterol, and non-HDL-cholesterol. Further, serum activities of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were significantly reduced by OP extract at 6 weeks. These results provide clear evidence that onion peel extract has a profound inhibitory effect on blood lipids in rats exposed to CS extract. These findings suggest that OP extract can be used as an effective means in alleviating the serum lipid concentration after CS exposure.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2009

In mammals, puberty is a dynamic transition process from infertile immature state to fertile adult state. The neuroendocrine aspect of puberty is started with functional activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal hormone axis. The timing of puberty can be altered by many factors including hormones and/or hormone-like materials, social cues and metabolic signals. For a long time, attainment of a particular body weight or percentage of body fat has been thought as crucial determinant of puberty onset. However, the precise effect of high-fat (HF) diet on the regulation of hypothalamic GnRH neuron during prepubertal period has not been fully elucidated yet. The present study was undertaken to test the effect of a HF diet on the puberty onset and hypothalamic gene expressions in immature female rats. The HF diet (45% energy from fat, HF group) was applied to female rats from weaning to around puberty onset (postnatal days, PND 22-40). Body weight and vaginal opening (VO) were checked daily during the entire feeding period. In the second experiment, all animals were sacrificed on PND 36 to measure the weights of reproductive tissues. Histological studies were performed to assess the effect of HF diet feeding on the structural alterations in the reproductive tissues. To determine the transcriptional changes of reproductive hormone-related genes in hypothalamus, total RNAs were extracted and applied to the semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Body weights of HF group animals tend to be higher than those of control animals between PND 22 and PND 31, and significant differences were observed PND 32, PND 34, PND 35 and PND 36 (p<0.05). Advanced VO was shown in the HF group (PND $32.8{\pm}0.37$ p<0.001) compared to the control (PND $38.25{\pm}0.25$). The weight of ovaries (p<0.01) and uteri (p<0.05) from HF group animals significantly increased when compared to those from control animals. Corpora lutea were observed in the ovaries from the HF group animals but not in control ovaries. Similarly, hypertrophy of luminal and glandular uterine epithelia was found only in the HF group animals. In the semi-quantitative RT-PCR studies, the transcriptional activities of KiSS-1 in HF group animals were significantly higher than those from the control animals (p<0.001). Likewise, the mRNA levels of GnRH (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in HF group animals. The present study indicated that the feeding HF diet during the post-weaning period activates the upstream modulators of gonadotropin such as GnRH and KiSS-1 in hypothalamus, resulting early onset of puberty in immature female rats.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2009

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fasting and high-fat diet feeding on uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) mRNA levels, uncoupling the respiratory chain and producing heat, of skeletal muscle in rat. METHODS. Fasting experiment: Forty Male Sprague-Dawley rats (5 wk) were divided into non-fasting groups (CON) and fasting groups (FG) for 0 day, 0.5 day (12 hr), 1 day, 2 day and 3 day. The rats of CON were sacrificed at 0 and 3 day. High-fat diet experiment: Forty Male Sprague-Dawley rats (5 wk) were divided into low-fat diet groups (LF) and high-fat diet group feeding for 0 day, 0.5 day (12 hr), 1 day, 2 day and 3 day. The rats of LF were sacrificed at 0 and 3 day. Analysis: Analysis of UCP3 mRNA expression was used by Real-time PCR. RESULTS. UCP3 mRNA levels of FG group were increased according to time course for 2 days- fasting but decreased at 3 day-fasting. UCP3 mRNA of HF were increased during HF diet feeding for 2 day, and peaked at 1 day-HF feeding, but decreased 2 day and 3 day-HF feeding CONCLUSION. Therefore, it may be rational that UCP3 is up-regulation when a large amount of fatty acids influx occurs in skeletal muscles as well as might have a role for fine adjustments of energy expenditure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.188-194
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• 2013

The effects of white bread supplemented with konjac glucomannan on diet-induced obesity in rats were investigated. Four groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were examined: a non-obese control group (NC), an obese high fat diet group (HF), an obese high fat diet group given bread supplemented with 10% konjac glucomannan (KGM1) and an obese high fat diet group given bread supplemented with 20% konjac glucomannan (KGM2). The daily weight gain of the KGM1 group increased slightly and decreased in the KGM2 group compared to the HF group. The serum triglycerides, total lipid, total cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol increased in the HF compared to the NC group, whereas they decreased in KGM1 and KGM2 groups. After having this experimental diet for 6 weeks, the body weight in KGM1 and KGM2 groups decreased compared to the HF group. While the initial R$\ddot{o}$hrer index was 23.13 in the NC group, and 31.50~32.59 in the HF, KGM1, and KGM2 groups, the index after the experimental diets for 6 weeks was 28.39 in the NC group, 36.88 in the HF group, 33.48 in the KGM1 group and 29.64 in the KGM2 group. The level of body fat increased from 1% to 7.14% in the NC group, from 15.60% to 60.05% in the HF group, and from 10.60% to 10.83% in the KMG1 group, but decreased from 10.45% to 8.20% in the KGM2 group. These results demonstrate that white bread with glucomannan is effective in reducing body weight and serum lipids in high fat diet-induced obese rats.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.663-669
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• 2006

The dietary effects of soy fiber beni-koji(SBCA) containing chitosan-ascorbate on the body weight and serum lipids in obese rats induced by a high fat diet were investigated. The experimental plots(6 rats per each group) were divided into a normal group(NC), a high fat diet group(HF), a 1% SBCA diet group(SBCA1) and a 2% SBCA diet group(SBCA2), and fed for 6 weeks. Compared with the HF group, the mean body weight and the $R\'{o}hrer$ index of the SBCA1 and SBCA2 groups decreased by $3.4{\sim}7.4%$ and $8.1{\sim}13.9%$, respectively. In particular, the body lipids in the SBCA2 group decreased by 42.3%. The serum triglyceride content decreased by approximately $25.54{\sim}27.34%$ in the experimental diet groups. There was no significant difference in the serum total lipids between the HF and SBCA1 groups. On the other hand, the total lipids in SBCA2 group decreased by 19.12% compared with the HF group. In the SBCA2 group, the total serum cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol content decreased by 6.57% and 41.20% compared with the HF group, respectively, while the HDL-cholesterol increased by 10.0%. The risk factor index(RFI) in the SBCA2 group was decreased remarkably by 58.57%.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.7 no.1 s.12
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• pp.5-14
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• 2004

Acupuncture has fairly good weight-reducing effect in treating simple obesity due to the neuroendocrine regulation. In this study, the antiobesity effects of herbal acupuncture(HA) with Sang-hwang(phellinus linteus) at Fuai(SP16) were investigated in the rat fed on high-fat(HF) diet. Sang-hwang mushroom has been proven to have anti-carcinogenic effects and Sang-hwang extracts are highly effective in treatment and preventive treatment of AIDS, diabetes and high blood-pressure. To determine whether the Sang-hwang herbal acupuncture may have the anti-obesity effect, male Sprague-Dawley(4-wk-old) rats were fed a HF diet for 5 wk, which produced significant weight gain compared to rats were fed a normal diet, and then herbal acupuncture were treated for 3 wk in HF diet group. The body weight, food consumption, food effeciency ratio(FER), body fat mass, plasma nitric oxide(NO) were investigated in rats fed on normal diet, HF diet, and HF diet with HA(HF-diet-HA) groups. NO has been proposed to be involved in the regulation of food intake. In addition, the expression of appetite peptides such as orexigenic peptide neuropeptide Y(NPY) and the anorectic peptide cholecystokinin(CCK) were observed in the hypothalamus. HF-HA group reduced body weight gain, FER, body fat contents and NO concentration compared to HF diet group. The expression of NPY was reduced in arcuate nucleus(ARC), and CCK was increased in the paraventricular nucleus(PVN) after treatment of HA. In conclusion, Sang-hwang HA reduced adipocity, plasma NO and hypothalamic NPY, but increased CCK expression in the HF dietinduced obesity rat, therefore HA may have anti-obesity action through regulating body weight and appetite peptide of the central nervous system.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.71-76
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• 2008

This study was performed to examine the effects of onion powder supplementation on lipid metabolism in male SD rats fed a high fat and high cholesterol diet. Experimental groups were control (C), high fat fed group (HF), high fat+onion powder intake (OP), high fat+quercetin intake (Q). The HF diet contained 1% cholesterol, 4% lard, 0.3% Na-taurocholate, and quercetin supplementation level was 0.1 g/kg diet. The OP group showed lower body weight gains compared to the control, while there was no significant difference in food efficiency ratio efficiency. When the proportion of fecal bile acids per total lipids was calculated, there was a significant decrease in the HF group compared to the control group, while the levels of the control group was same as that of the OP group. There was no significant difference between the HF and Q groups in bile acid/total lipid in feces. The amount of total cholesterol in liver increased significantly in HF group compared to the control group, while total cholesterol decreased significantly in the OP group compared to the HF group. There was a significant decrease in GOT (glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase) activity in OP and Q groups compared to the HF group. In conclusion, feeding onion powder to hyperlipidemic rates appeared to control weight gain, significantly lower the level of total cholesterol in the liver, and recover GOT activity. We also demonstrated that onion powder intake was more effective than quercetin intake.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2009

Objective : Recently, obesity has increased at an alarming rate and is now a worldwide health problem. Natural dietary supplement, $CharmSlim^{(R)}$(C), is mixed pills, which consists of beans, black sesames, kelps, onions, adlay seeds, anchovies, pyogo mushrooms, green tea. Our study was performed to determine the weight-loss effects of natural dietary supplement, based on natural ingredients, in mice fed high-fat diet with an abundance of carbohydrates. Methods : Four groups of male ICR mice were fed different diets during 6 weeks: normal diet(NOR), high-fat (15%, w/w) diet(HF), high-fat supplemented with natural dietary supplement powdered 5%(C5) and 10%(C10) groups. We measured the changes of food intake, body weight and adipose tissues weights. Also we examined levels of lipid profiles in serum. Results : Body weight, liver weight and food efficiency ratio were significantly higher in the HF group than in NOR group. After 6 weeks of treatment, body weight, liver weight and adipose tissues weights (epididymal, perinephric, visceral and BAT) were significantly decreased in the C10 group when compared to the control HF group. The C10 group had markedly lower serum levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride when compared with HF group. Conclusion : These results demonstrate that this dietary supplement can suppress the increased lipid profiles, body weight and fat gains, thus could be considered as an effective adjunct in the treatment of obesity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.322-327
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• 2012

This study investigated the hypothesis that a sorghum extract exerts anti-diabetic effects through a mechanism that improves insulin sensitivity via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-${\gamma}$) from adipose tissue. Seven C57BL/6 mice were fed an AIN-93M diet with fat consisting of 10% of total energy intake (LF) for 14 weeks, and 21 mice were fed a high-fat AIN diet with 60% of calories derived from fat (HF). From week 8, the HF diet-fed mice were orally administered either saline (HF group), 0.5% (0.5% SE group), or 1% sorghum extract (1% SE group) for 6 weeks (n = 7/group). Perirenal fat content was significantly lower in the 0.5% SE and 1% SE groups than that in the HF mice. Levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and the area under the curve for glucose were significantly lower in mice administered 0.5% SE and 1% SE than those in HF mice. Serum insulin level was significantly lower in mice administered 1% SE than that in HF mice or those given 0.5% SE. PPAR-${\gamma}$ expression was significantly higher, whereas the expression of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ was significantly lower in mice given 1% SE compared to those in the HF mice. Adiponectin expression was also significantly higher in mice given 0.5% SE and 1% SE than that in the HF mice. These results suggest that the hypoglycemic effect of SE may be related with the regulation of PPAR-${\gamma}$-mediated metabolism in this mouse model.