• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1052-1056
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• 2012

Undaria pinnatifada has been used as a natural diet food with few calories and as a source of iodine. Even though U. pinnatifida has been regarded as a diet food, the mechanisms of its inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation and the accumulation of fat in adipocytes are poorly understood. In this study, the effect and mechanism of U. pinnatifida ethanol extract on 3T3-L1 differentiation into adipocytes were investigated. The effects of U. pinnatifida ethanol extract on cell viability and the anti-adipogenic effect were investigated via MTT assay, Oil red O staining, RT-PCR, and western blot. The U. pinnatifida ethanol extract did not show toxicity up to a concentration of 50 ${\mu}g/ml$. The addition of U. pinnatifida ethanol extract decreased triglyceride contents by 40% when 50 ${\mu}g/ml$ of U. pinnatifida ethanol extract was added during 3T3-L1 differentiation and adipocyte triglyceride formation. The transcription and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$), leptin, and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) as adipocyte-specific proteins were determined by RT-PCR and western blot. The overexpression of $PPAR{\gamma}$ could accelerate adipocyte differentiation. Also, leptin was secreted for triglyceride accumulation in the adipocytes and the increase of adipocyte cell size. Thus, $PPAR{\gamma}$ and leptin were used as indicators of obesity. $PPAR{\gamma}$ and leptin were repressed by the increased addition of U. pinnatifida ethanol extract. This indicates that U. pinnatifida was effective as an anti-obesity agent by repressing the differentiation of 3T3-L1 into adipocytes and inhibiting triglyceride formation in adipocytes.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.215-222
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• 2003

As the obesity has been known to be related with the hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, cerebral apoplexy, fatty liver, and other chronic diseases, recent researches have focused on the functional food materials and their anti-obesity activities. This study was performed to study the effects of vanilloid family capsaicin, major pungent ingredient of hot chillies and peppers, on anti-obesity activities. ICR male mice were fed one of the pellet diet, basal diet, and high fat diet with capsaicin (45 $\mu\textrm{g}$/day) solution for 5 days. Mice in the corresponding control groups were given water for 5 days. In results, capsaicin reduced body weights in any diet groups. Percent weight and cell size of the abdominal white adipose tissue in mice on the high fat diet with capcaicin were significantly lower compared with those in mice on the high fat diet with water. However, percent brown adipose tissue weight per body weight in mice on the high fat diet was not affected by capsaicin. Capsaicin reduced the levels of s-triglyceride and s-total cholesterol in the pellet diet or high fat diet groups. There was no difference in the s-protein levels between the capsaicin group and the control water group. These data indicate that 1) orally administered capsaicin has a reducing effect on the blood triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, and 2) capsaicin has lowering effects on the body weight, percent weight and cell size of the abdominal white adipose tissue.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.419-423
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• 2007

Obesity is increasingly recognized as a serious public health threat. Anti-obesity nutraceuticals that are safe and effective for the control and treatment of obesity are the subject of intense research throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of plants such as Akebia quinata, corn silk, Crataegus pinnatifida var. psilosa, Coix lachrymajobi var. mayuen, and Lentinus edodes on fat cell size and serum lipid profile of rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were weighed, randomly assigned and fed AIN-76A basal or high fat diet for 6 weeks. Serum triacylglycerol level of rats fed a normal diet was significantly decreased with natural plants supplementation. Adipocytes from the epididymal fat pads of rats fed a high fat diet were larger than those of rats fed a normal diet. Fat cell size significantly (p<0.05) decreased with natural plants supplementation. Therefore, we found that natural plants supplementation can be used for the treatment of obesity, possibly by decreasing the body fat.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.74-80
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• 2001

Objectives : Ma-huang is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, derived from Ephedra sinica Stapf and other Ephedra species, used to treat asthma, nose and lung congestion, and fever with anhidrosis. It contains 0.5-2.5% by weight of total alkaloids, of which ephedrine accounts for 30 to 90%. Recently, Ma-huang has been used as a source of ephedrine in many dietary supplements formulated for the treatment of obesity, since ephedrine has been found to be effective in inducing weight loss in the obese. In this study the effects of the methanol extract of Ma-huang on the adipocyte of epididymal and brown fat pads in rats fed a high fat diet for six weeks were studied. Methods : Male Sprague Dawley rats weighing an average 94g (4 weeks old) were fed either a regular diet (RE) or a high fat diet (HF), and the HF group was subdivided into a Ma-huang methanol extract (30mg/100g body weight) group (HF+MH). The weight of epididymal fat pad and brown adipose tissue were measured. The cell size and cell number per unit area of epididymal fat pad were investigated. Results : The yield weight of methanol extract of Ma-huang was 3.63mg per l00g of Ma-huang. The body weight gain of the HF group was similar with that of the HF+ MH but higher than that of the RE. The weights of the epididymal fat pads and brown adipose tissue of the RE group were lower than those of HF and HF+MH groups. The cell sizes and numbers per unit area of epididymal fat pads of the RE and HF+MH groups were larger than those of HF group. The cell numbers per unit area size of epididymal fat pads were the smallest in the RE group. Conclusions : It could be concluded that the Ma-huang extract has no effect on the epididymal fat pads in rats fed a high fat diet and the clinical application of Ma-huang for the treatment of obesity should be re-considered.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.161-171
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• 2008

Objective : In order to investigate the effects of Soongijeseub-bang(here in after referred to SJB) on the obese gene and obese inhibitory, C57BL/6 mice were induced by high fat diet Methods : C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups(normal, high fat diet with control, high fat diet with SJB extract) and fed for 15 weeks. And measured body weight change, the weight change of the adipocytes in body, the levels of ALT, AST, creatinine, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, NEFA(non-esterified fat acid), glucose in serum and the expression of ${\beta}3AR$, leptin, and TNF- ${\alpha}$ gene in primary adipocytes and adipocytes tissue. Results : The following results were obtained in this study. 1. SJB 500 mg/kg extract group showed significant decrease in final weight. 2. SJB 500 mg/kg extract group showed significant decrease in the amount of adipocyte in weight. 3. All experimental group showed significant decrease in ALT and AST levels. 4. All experimetal group did not show significant decrease in glucose and creatinine levels. 5. All experimental group showed significant decrease in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride and NEFA levels. HDL-cholesterol were increase significantly in SJB 500 mg/kg extract group. 6. SJB 500 mg/kg extract group showed significant decrease in leptin levels. 7. All experimental group showed significantly increased expressions of fJ 3AR in primary adipose cell and 3T3-Ll cell, and those of leptin in primary adipose cell and 3T3-Ll cell were decreased significantly. SJB $100{\mu}l/ml$ extract group showed significant decrease in the expression of TNF-${\alpha}$. 8. SJB 500 mg/kg extract group showed decrease in the size of adipocyte in adipocytes tissue. 9. All experimental group showed significant decrease in adipose vacuoles in liver tissue.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.116-132
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• 2008

Objective: This study investigated the effects of Bimanbang-1 (肥滿1號方: here in after referred to BMB-1) on the obese gene and obese inhibitory. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were induced by high fat diet. Mice were divided into three groups (normal, high fat diet with control, high fat diet with BMB-1 extract) and fed for 15 weeks. Items of this experimental study are as follows: body weight change, final body weight, the weight change of the adipocytes in body, the level change of LFT, NEFA and creatinine, the expression of ${\beta}3AR$ and leptin gene in primary adipocytes, the production change of leptin in primary adipocytes, the expression of ${\beta}3AR$, leptin and $TNF-{\alpha}$ in adipocytes tissue. Result: 1. All experimental groups showedthat the weight change decreased considerably and the high density group showedthat the final weight decreased considerably. 2. The high density group showed that the amount of the adipocyte in weight decreased considerably. 3. All experimental groups showedthat the amount of ALT decreased considerably, and AST decreased in the high density group. However, the amount of creatinine and glucose did not increase considerably. 4. All experimental groups showed that the amount of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, and NEFA decreased, and HDL-cholesterol increased considerably. 5. The high density groups showedthat the amount of leptin decreased considerably. 6. All experimental groups showed that the revelation of ${\beta}3AR$ in primary adipose cell and 3T3-L1 cell increased considerably, and that the revelation of leptin and $TNF-{\alpha}$ in primary adipose cellsand 3T3-L1 cells decreased considerably. 7. All experimental groups showed that the size of adipocyte in adipocytes tissue decreased. 8. All experimental groups showed that the adipose vacuoles in liver tissue decreased considerably. Conclusion: The findings suggest that Bimanbang-1 causes weight loss and histological change, thus it may be effective to treat obesity.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2995-3000
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• 2013

We investigated the effects of testosterone on the improvement of white adipose tissue explant and its molecular mechanism in adipose tissue of high fat diet-fed male castrated (CAST) mice. The CAST mice treated with testosterone had lower adipose tissue weights, the average size of adipocytes and mRNA levels of $C/EBP{\alpha}$ as well as adipocyte marker genes than the vehicle-treated CAST mice. These results suggest that testosterone prevent the expression of $C/EBP{\alpha}$ and $C/EBP{\alpha}$-mediated adipocyte marker genes, resulting in decreased adipose tissue mass and adipocyte metabolism in male CAST mice. Moreover, this study give a valuable molecular and biological knowledge on testosterone therapy in obese hypogonadal men.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.1011-1021
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• 2021

The root bark of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica (Japanese elm) is used in Korea and other East Asian countries as a traditional herbal remedy to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases and ailments such as edema, gastric cancer and mastitis. For this study, we investigated the lipid metabolism and anti-obesity efficacy of ethyl alcohol extract of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark (UDE). First, HPLC was performed to quantify the level of (+)-catechin, the active ingredient of UDE. In the following experiments, cultured 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed murine model were studied for anti-obesity efficacy by testing the lipid metabolism effects of UDE and (+)-catechin. In the test using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes, treatment with UDE inhibited adipocyte differentiation and significantly reduced the production of adipogenic genes and transcription factors PPARγ, C/EBPα and SREBP-1c. HFD-fed, obese mice were administered with UDE (200 mg/kg per day) and (+)-catechin (30 mg/kg per day) by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Weight gain, epididymal and abdominal adipose tissue mass were significantly reduced, and a change in adipocyte size was observed in the UDE and (+)-catechin treatment groups compared to the untreated control group (^***p < 0.001). Significantly lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were detected in UDE-treated HFD mice compared to the control, revealing the efficacy of UDE. In addition, it was found that lipid accumulation in hepatocytes was also significantly reduced after administration of UDE. These results suggest that UDE has significant anti-obesity and lipid metabolism effects through inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.196-203
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• 2022

Objective: This study compared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between groups with high and low numbers of fine marbling particles (NFMP) in the longissimus thoracis muscle (LT) of Korean cattle to understand the molecular events associated with fine marbling particle formation. Methods: The size and distribution of marbling particles in the LT were assessed with a computer image analysis method. Based on the NFMP, 10 LT samples were selected and assigned to either high- (n = 5) or low- (n = 5) NFMP groups. Using RNA sequencing, LT transcriptomic profiles were compared between the high- and low-NFMP groups. DEGs were selected at p<0.05 and |fold change| >2 and subjected to functional annotation. Results: In total, 328 DEGs were identified, with 207 up-regulated and 121 down-regulated genes in the high-NFMP group. Pathway analysis of these DEGs revealed five significant (p<0.05) Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways; the significant terms included endocytosis (p = 0.023), protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum (p = 0.019), and adipocytokine signaling pathway (p = 0.024), which are thought to regulate adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia. The expression of sirtuin4 (p<0.001) and insulin receptor substrate 2 (p = 0.043), which are associated with glucose uptake and adipocyte differentiation, was higher in the high-NFMP group than in the low-NFMP group. Conclusion: Transcriptome differences between the high- and low-NFMP groups suggest that pathways regulating adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy are involved in the marbling fineness of the LT.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nutrition Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.142-142
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• 2003