The anti-obesity effects of Tongbi-san in a high-fat diet-induced obese mouse model

BackgroundRecently, it has been noted that natural herbal medications may be effective in treating obesity. Tongbi-san (TBS) is a traditional medicine usually used for dysuria (i.e., painful urination), containing three herbs, Cyperus rotundus L., Citrus unshiu Markovich, and Poria cocos. In this study, we aimed to examine whether TBS can inhibit high-fat diet (HFD)-induced adipogenesis in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue of obese mice.MethodsMale C57BL/6N mice were fed a normal diet, an HFD, an HFD plus orlistat 10 or 20mg/kg, or an HFD plus TBS 50 or 100mg/kg for 11weeks. Body weight was checked weekly and histological tissue examinations were investigated. An expression of genes involved in adipogenesis was also assessed.ResultsOral administration of TBS significantly reduced body weight and decreased epididymal and visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) weight. In addition, we found that TBS enhanced the expression of the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibited the expression of transcription factors, such as CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) in the liver and epididymal WAT as measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that the anti-obesity effects of TBS may be linked to the activation of AMPK.