Physcion reduces lipid accumulation and prevents the obesity in mice

Obesity increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, and fatty liver. Physcion (PY) is an anthraquinone that reportedly has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. However, few studies have addressed the effect of PY on high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of PY on obesity.

Male C57BL/6 J mice were randomly divided into three groups and fed normal diet (ND, 5% fat, w/w), high-fat diet (HFD, 20% fat, 1% cholesterol, w/w), and HFD supplemented with 0.002% PY (w/w) for 16 weeks. Obesity-related biomarkers were analyzed including whole body and white adipose tissue (WAT) weight, in addition to lipid and inflammatory factors in the plasma, feces, liver and epididymal WAT. Significant differences among the groups were determined using Student's t-test. Differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Body and WAT weights were significantly decreased by the PY supplement relative to the HFD groups. Energy expenditure was enhanced by the PY supplement, which led to ameliorate plasma lipids, adipokines, cytokines, and fecal lipids. Fatty acid (FA) synthesis decreased in the liver, while FA oxidation increased. Finally, lipid synthesis markedly decreased whereas lipolysis and oxidation increased in WAT.

The PY supplement suppressed lipid accumulation in WAT and the liver by regulating enzyme and gene levels. These results indicate that PY can improve diet-induced obesity and its complications such as dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and inflammation.