Plumbagin exerts antiobesity effects through inhibition of pancreatic lipase and adipocyte differentiation

Synthesis, molecular modelling and pharmacological evaluation of novel indole-thiazolidinedione based hybrid analogues as potential pancreatic lipase inhibitors

A series of novel indole-thiazolidinedione hybrid analogues (7a to 7 u) were synthesised, characterised and evaluated for their potential Pancreatic Lipase (PL) inhibition. Amongst the screened analogues, 7r was found to be the most active PL inhibitor with an IC50 of 2.67 µM. Furthermore, enzyme inhibition kinetics study revealed a competitive mode of inhibition by the analogues. This fact was confirmed via fluorescence spectroscopy which further suggested the presence of one binding site for the synthesized analogues. Molecular docking was performed using human PL (PDB ID: 1LPB) and were in agreement with the in vitro results (Pearson's r = 0.8355, p < 0.05). A molecular dynamics study (100 ns) indicated that 7r was stable in a dynamic environment. The analogue 7r exhibited potential antioxidant activity and was devoid of cytotoxic effect on RAW 264.7 cells. Based on the in-vitro profiles, 7r was selected for the in-vivo pharmacological evaluation. Oral triglyceride tolerance test highlighted effect of 7r on the inhibition of triglyceride absorption. A four-week treatment of 7r in the HFD feed mice provided information regarding its anti-obesity effect with respect to parameters such as body weight, triglycerides, total cholesterol and high-density lipids. Quantification of the faecal triglyceride contents inveterates the potential role of 7r in the PL inhibition. Overall, the synthesized analogue 7r exerted an anti-obesity effect comparable to orlistat. All these results demonstrated the potential role of the newly synthesised indole-thiazolidinedione hybrid analogues in PL inhibition and may be studied further to find potential drug candidates for treating obesity.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Structural characterization of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) pectin and its inhibitory activity on pancreatic lipase

This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical properties and biological activities of noni pectin (NP) extracted using various solvents, three fractions of noni pectin were obtained using traditional chemical and deep eutectic solvents. NPs are composed of various ratios of galacturonic acid, arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, glucose, and galactose with different yields, molecular weights, esterification degrees (DE), and microstructures. Among the fractions, noni pectin extracted with Betaine-citric acid (BNP) exhibited higher molecular weight, degree for esterification and pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory activity than the other fractions. Enzyme kinetic analysis indicated that BNP inhibited PL via a noncompetitive mechanism. BNP significantly altered the secondary structure of PL and quenched PL fluorescence, suggesting a static quenching mechanism. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) further demonstrated that the binding of BNP to PL was spontaneous and driven by enthalpy, primarily mediated by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. Molecular docking simulations also confirmed strong noncovalent interactions (hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces) between BNP and PL. This study validated the high efficiency of the deep eutectic solvent-extracted noni pectin fraction in pancreatic lipase inhibition.

Effect of Thai Herbal Remedy NL Inhibits Lipid Accumulation on 3T3-L1 Adipocyte Cells

Obesity is a global health concern, steadily rising and posing risks to various health conditions. Despite available antiobesity drugs, their withdrawal due to severe side effects highlights the need for safer alternatives. Natural products, particularly mixed herbal formulations, present a promising avenue in obesity research. This study aimed to investigate the potential antiobesity effects of the NL herbal formula, a traditional remedy in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, composed of nine herbs. The specific focus was on the inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase enzyme activities, adipogenesis inhibition and lipolysis promotion. NL extract was phytochemically analyzed and assessed for its inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase. Its impact on lipid accumulation and glycerol release was also evaluated. Phytochemical analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) identified piperine as the major compound in the NL extract. NL extract exhibited significant inhibition of α-glucosidase, moderate pancreatic lipase inhibition, and dose-dependent reduction in fat accumulation and triglyceride content. Glycerol release increased compared to the control, indicating potential benefits in weight management. This research underscores the potential of the NL formula in combating obesity through its effects on adipogenesis, lipolysis, and enzyme activities. Further investigations into the molecular mechanisms are warranted to fully elucidate its therapeutic potential.

The inhibitory activity of Flos Sophorae Immaturus extract and its major flavonoid components on pancreatic lipase

Inhibition of pancreatic lipase (PL) is a strategy to prevent obesity. The inhibitory effects of Flos Sophorae Immaturus (FSI) extract and its main flavonoid components, rutin and quercetin, on PL were investigated. The contents of rutin and quercetin in FSI extract were 44.10 ± 1.33 % and 6.07 ± 1.62 %, respectively. The IC50 values of FSI extract, rutin and quercetin on PL were 322, 258 and 71 μg/mL, respectively. Rutin and quercetin inhibited PL in a reversible and noncompetitive manner. The combination of rutin and quercetin exhibited synergistic inhibitory effects at low concentration. The binding of rutin/quercetin with PL caused the fluorescence quenching of protein. Fluorescence titration showed the binding affinity of quercetin with PL protein was stronger than that of rutin. Circular dichroism analysis showed the binding changed the secondary structure of PL with an increase in random coil and a decrease in α-Helix and β-Sheet. Molecular docking revealed that rutin and quercetin could interact with the amino acid residues around the catalytic site through multiple secondary interactions. In vivo studies showed that FSI extract can reduce fat absorption and promote fecal fat excretion through inhibition of PL activity, and the effects were mainly due to rutin and quercetin.

Nutritional and medicinal plants as potential sources of enzyme inhibitors toward the bioactive functional foods: an updated review

Enzymes are biologically active complex protein molecules that catalyze most chemical reactions in living organisms, and their inhibitors accelerate biological processes. This review emphasizes medicinal food plants and their isolated chemicals inhibiting clinically important enzymes in common diseases. A mechanistic overview was investigated to explain the mechanism of these food bases enzyme inhibitors. The enzyme inhibition potential of medicinal food plants and their isolated substances was searched in Ovid, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Cholinesterase, amylase, glucosidase, xanthine oxidase, tyrosinase, urease, lipoxygenase, and others were inhibited by crude extracts, solvent fractions, or isolated pure chemicals from medicinal food plants. Several natural compounds have shown tyrosinase inhibition potential, including quercetin, glabridin, phloretin-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, lupinalbin, and others. Some of these compounds' inhibitory kinetics and molecular mechanisms are also discussed. Phenolics and flavonoids inhibit enzyme activity best among the secondary metabolites investigated. Several studies showed flavonoids' significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, highlighting their medicinal potential. Overall, many medicinal food plants, their crude extracts/fractions, and isolated compounds have been studied, and some promising compounds depending on the enzyme have been found. Still, more studies are recommended to derive potential pharmacologically active functional foods.

Adipose and non-adipose perspectives of plant derived natural compounds for mitigation of obesity

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Phyto-preparations and phyto-compounds, by their natural origin, easy availability, cost-effectiveness, and fruitful traditional uses based on accumulated experiences, have been extensively explored to mitigate the global burden of obesity.

AIM OF THIS REVIEW

The review aimed to analyse and critically summarize the prospect of future anti-obesity drug leads from the extant array of phytochemicals for mitigation of obesity, using adipose related targets (adipocyte formation, lipid metabolism, and thermogenesis) and non-adipose targets (hepatic lipid metabolism, appetite, satiety, and pancreatic lipase activity). Phytochemicals as inhibitors of adipocyte differentiation, modulators of lipid metabolism, and thermogenic activators of adipocytes are specifically discussed with their non-adipose anti-obesogenic targets.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and SciFinder were accessed to collect data on traditional medicinal plants, compounds derived from plants, their reported anti-obesity mechanisms, and therapeutic targets. The taxonomically accepted name of each plant in this review has been vetted from "The Plant List" (www.theplantlist.org) or MPNS (http://mpns.kew.org).

RESULTS

Available knowledge of a large number of phytochemicals, across a range of adipose and non-adipose targets, has been critically analysed and delineated by graphical and tabular depictions, towards mitigation of obesity. Neuro-endocrinal modulation in non-adipose targets brought into sharp dual focus, both non-adipose and adipose targets as the future of anti-obesity research. Numerous phytochemicals (Berberine, Xanthohumol, Ursolic acid, Guggulsterone, Tannic acid, etc.) have been found to be effectively reducing weight through lowered adipocyte formation, increased lipolysis, decreased lipogenesis, and enhanced thermogenesis. They have been affirmed as potential anti-obesity drugs of future because of their effectiveness yet having no threat to adipose or systemic insulin sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

Due to high molecular diversity and a greater ratio of benefit to risk, plant derived compounds hold high therapeutic potential to tackle obesity and associated risks. This review has been able to generate fresh perspectives on the anti-diabetic/anti-hyperglycemic/anti-obesity effect of phytochemicals. It has also brought into the focus that many phytochemicals demonstrating in vitro anti-obesogenic effects are yet to undergo in vivo investigation which could lead to potential phyto-molecules for dedicated anti-obesity action.

Murine in vitro cellular models to better understand adipogenesis and its potential applications

Adipogenesis has been extensively studied using in vitro models of cellular differentiation, enabling long-term regulation of fat cell metabolism in human adipose tissue (AT) material. Many studies promote the idea that manipulation of this process could potentially reduce the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases. It has now become essential to understand the molecular basis of fat cell development to tackle this pandemic disease, by identifying therapeutic targets and new biomarkers. This review explores murine cell models and their applications for study of the adipogenic differentiation process in vitro. We focus on the benefits and limitations of different cell line models to aid in interpreting data and selecting a good cell line model for successful understanding of adipose biology.

Lipase Inhibitors for Obesity: A Review

With the rapid increase in the population of obese individuals, obesity has become a global problem. Many kinds of chronic metabolic diseases easily caused by obesity have received increasing attention from researchers. People are also striving to find various safe and effective treatment methods as well as anti-obesity medicines. Pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitors have received substantial attention from researchers in recent years, and PL inhibitors from natural products have attracted much attention due to their structural diversity, low toxicity and wide range of sources. They have been used in the intestinal tract, blood, and the central nervous system with no side effects, and these advantages could lead to a new generation of diet pills or health care products with great development potential. This article is mainly aimed at discussing the research of obesity drug treatment with PL inhibitors and offers a brief review of related properties and the use of PL inhibitors in the field of weight loss.

Computational approaches for the discovery of natural pancreatic lipase inhibitors as antiobesity agents

Obesity is becoming one of the greatest threats to global health in the 21st century and therefore the development of novel antiobesity drugs is one of the top priorities of global drug research. An important treatment strategy includes the reduction of intestinal fat absorption through the inhibition of pancreatic lipase (PL). Natural products provide a vast pool of PL inhibitors with novel scaffolds that can possibly be developed into clinical products. Computational drug design methods have become increasingly invaluable in the drug discovery process. In recent years, the discovery of new antiobesity PL inhibitors has been facilitated by the application of computational methods. This review highlights some computer-aided drug design techniques utilized in the discovery of natural PL inhibitors.

Chrysin mitigated obesity by regulating energy intake and expenditure in rats

Background and aim

Chrysin is a flavonoid found in plant extracts from Passiflora species, honey and propolis. It has demonstrated anti-adipogenic activity in vitro but there are no studies substantiating the anti-obesity activity of chrysin in vivo.

Experimental procedure

The pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory potential of chrysin was determined by preliminary in silico screening and further confirmed by in vitro PL inhibitory assay and oral fat tolerance test (OFTT). The effect of chrysin on acute feed intake and sucrose preference test was determined in normal rats. Obesity was induced by feeding of high fructose diet (HFD) to the rats. The rats were divided into six groups: normal control, HFD control, orlistat and three doses of chrysin (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight). Body weight, body mass index (BMI), abdominal circumference/thoracic circumference (AC/TC) ratio, calorie intake, adiposity index, fecal cholesterol, locomotor activity and histopathology of the adipose tissue of the rats were evaluated.

Results

Chrysin showed good affinity to PL with competitive type of inhibition. It significantly reduced serum triglycerides in OFTT. Chrysin also significantly reduced acute feed intake and sucrose preference in rats. Chrysin significantly decreased the body weight, BMI, AC/TC ratio, adiposity index, calorie intake while it significantly increased the fecal cholesterol and locomotor activity of the rats. Chrysin was found to reduce the size of the adipocytes when compared to the HFD control group.

Conclusion

Thus, chrysin exerted anti-obesity effect by inhibiting PL, reducing sucrose preference, reducing calorie intake and increasing the locomotor activity of rats.