Natural Products & Plant Materials
Cornus and Ribes fasciculatum 7:3 Blend Suppresses Fat Cell Differentiation More Than Either Alone
Comparing four blending ratios, the 7:3 blend of Cornus and Ribes fasciculatum extracts showed the greatest suppression of fat-production genes.
Is mixing two medicinal plants better than using just one? Researchers at the Department of Medical Genetics at Ajou University School of Medicine and NINEB, a subsidiary of Ajou University's technology holding company, compared the effects of blending Cornus (Cornus officinalis) and Ribes fasciculatum extracts in cells and mice and reported the results in Molecules.
Comparing 9:1 Through 6:4
The researchers treated 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with the two extracts mixed at ratios of 9:1, 8:2, 7:3 and 6:4 while the cells were differentiating. All four ratios lowered expression of fat-production genes, but the suppression of FABP4 and PPARγ was greatest at 7:3. The 7:3 blend suppressed C/EBPα, FABP4, PPARγ and SREBP1 more than treatment with each extract alone.
In a follow-up experiment in which the 7:3 blend was fed to mice on a high-fat diet with 60% fat for 12 weeks, weight gain was curbed, and fat deposits in abdominal visceral adipose tissue and in the liver decreased. Expression of fat-production genes in abdominal white adipose tissue was also lowered.
Three Compounds in One Extract
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis detected morroniside and loganin from Cornus and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) from Ribes fasciculatum together in the blended extract. This is a composition in which the representative compounds of the two plants are contained in one extract.
- Of the 9:1, 8:2, 7:3 and 6:4 blends, 7:3 gave the greatest suppression of FABP4 and PPARγ
- The 7:3 blend suppressed differentiation more than Cornus or Ribes fasciculatum alone
- 12 weeks of dosing in high-fat-diet mice reduced weight gain, visceral fat and fatty liver
Limitations These are cell and mouse results, and this study cannot show whether the advantage of the blending ratio is the same in people.
Original Research
- Park E, et al. · Ajou University School of Medicine · Nine B Company. Antiadipogenic Effects of Mixtures of Cornus officinalis and Ribes fasciculatum Extracts on 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes and High-Fat Diet-Induced Mice. Molecules. DOI: 10.3390/molecules25102350
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