Abstract
Background: Obesity is associated with an increase in adipogenesis and is becoming a serious health problem in modern society. Objective: The effects of various Solidago virgaurea var. gigantean (SV) ethanolic aqueous extracts on anti-adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells were investigated. In addition, the effect of SV 10% ethanolic extract (SV10E) on preventing obesity was studied in high-fat diet-induced obese mice (C57BL/6 N). Design: The effect of SV10E on preventing obesity was studied in mice (n = 6): normal-fat diet, high-fat diet (HFD), HFD supplemented with 1% (10 g/kg) Garcinia cambogia extract of 60% (-)-hydroxycitric acid (positive control), HFD supplemented with 0.5% (5 g/kg) SV10E, and HFD supplemented with 2% (20 g/kg) SV10E. Results: SV10E showed the highest anti-adipogenic activity in vitro and reduced body weight gain, adipose tissue size, and liver weight, without affecting food intake in vivo. SV10E administration decreased the levels of total triacylglycerol and cholesterol in serum, and lipid metabolites in liver. Adipogenic and lipogenic genes such as PPAR-γ, C/EBP-α, aP2, FAS, SCD-1, SREBP-1c, and CD36 in white adipose tissue and liver were suppressed by SV10E administration. Conclusion: SV10E can be a potent functional food ingredient for preventing HFD-induced obesity by suppressing adipogenesis and lipogenesis.