Chen J, Wong HS, Leung HY, Leong PK, Chan WM, Ko KM
Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear water bay, Hong Kong.
It has previously been demonstrated that HCY2, an ursolic acid-enriched fraction derived from Cynomorii Herba, induced mitochondrial uncoupling in heart, liver and kidney tissues of rats. In the present study, we investigated whether HCY2 co-treatment can reduce the body weight in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice by virtue of mitochondrial uncoupling in skeletal muscle. The results showed that HCY2 co-treatment significantly reduced the body weight gain and white fat pads in HFD-fed mice. The weight reduction effect of HCY2 was associated with the induction of mitochondrial uncoupling in skeletal muscle, amelioration of HFD-induced hyperglycaemia and impairment in glucose tolerance as well as dyslipidaemia and fatty liver in HFD-fed mice. It is likely that HCY2 reduces body weight by increasing energy expenditure, presumably via mitochondrial uncoupling in skeletal muscle. HCY2 may therefore offer a promising prospect in preventing obesity and the associated metabolic syndrome and health consequences.