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Aug 28, 2023

Tropical Plant Extract May Help Prevent Obesity

Obesity is a major risk factor for various chronic diseases, especially lifestyle-related diseases. Therefore, finding a protective substance against obesity and elucidating its molecular mechanism is

Obesity is a major risk factor for various chronic diseases, especially lifestyle-related diseases. Therefore, finding a protective substance against obesity and elucidating its molecular mechanism is one of the most important problems for improving human health. In a new study, scientists investigated the antiobesity effect of the extract from Mallotus peltatus (also known as Mallotus furetianus), a species of tropical flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, native from India to Papuasia.

Mallotus peltatus. Image credit: Abu Hamas / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Obesity is a major risk factor for various chronic diseases, especially lifestyle-related diseases.

Therefore, finding a protective substance against obesity and elucidating its molecular mechanism is one of the most important problems for improving human health.

Antiobesity effects induced by natural products include induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest or retardation, and interference with transcription factors or signaling pathways, which occur early in adipogenesis.

“The extract of Mallotus peltatus, traditionally used as a folk medicine for gallbladder disease, has been reported to have antiarteriosclerosis and antisteatosis effects,” said Dr. Akiko Kojima-Yuasa, a researcher at Osaka City University and Osaka Metropolitan University, and colleagues.

“However, the antiobesity effect of the extract and its mechanism have not yet been clarified.”

In the new study, the authors investigated the antiobesity effects of the Mallotus peltatus extract using both in vivo and in vitro experimental systems.

Treatment with the extract significantly suppressed the increase in body weight and adipose tissue weight.

It also demonstrated morphological changes in the liver and adipose tissue of the obesity model mice.

Further investigation into the mechanism revealed that fat synthesis was inhibited by suppressing the expression of several transcription factors involved in adipocyte differentiation.

“Our research group is searching for food ingredients with antiobesity effects, based on the idea that if we can find and incorporate them into our daily diets, we can contribute to people’s health and longevity,” Dr. Kojima said.

“These results not only suggest a link between the Mallotus peltatus extract and antiobesity effects but also indicate its potential as a new food ingredient with antiobesity properties.”

The study was published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition.

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Touko Nakano et al. The suppression of the differentiation of adipocytes with Mallotus furetianus is regulated through the posttranslational modifications of C/EBPβ. Food Science & Nutrition, published online July 5, 2023; doi: 10.1002/fsn3.3551