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Integrative Biology

Rubi Fructus (Rubus coreanus) activates the expression of thermogenic genes in vivo and in vitro

International Journal of Obesity volume 39, pages 456–464 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To investigate the anti-obesity effect of Rubi Fructus (RF) extract using brown adipose tissue (BAT) and primary brown preadipocytes in vivo and in vitro.

Methods:

Male C57BL/6 J mice (n=5 per group) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks with or without RF. Brown preadipocytes from the interscapular BAT of mice (age, post-natal days 1–3) were cultured with differentiation media (DM) including isobutylmethylxanthine, dexamethasone, T3, indomethacin and insulin with or without RF.

Results:

In HFD-induced obese C57BL/6 J mice, long-term RF treatment significantly reduced weight gain as well as the weights of the white adipose tissue, liver and spleen. Serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were also reduced in the HFD group which received RF treatment. Furthermore, RF induced thermogenic-, adipogenic- and mitochondria-related gene expressions in BAT. In primary brown adipocytes, RF effectively stimulated the expressions of thermogenic- and mitochondria-related genes. In addition, to examine whether LIPIN1, a regulator of adipocyte differentiation, is regulated by RF, Lipin1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and RF were pretreated in primary brown adipocytes. Pretreatment with Lipin1 siRNA and RF downregulated the DM-induced expression levels of thermogenic- and mitochondria-related genes. Moreover, RF markedly upregulated AMP-activated protein kinase. Our study shows that RF is capable of stimulating the differentiation of brown adipocytes through the modulation of thermogenic genes.

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates that RF prevents the development of obesity in mice fed with a HFD and that it is also capable of stimulating the differentiation of brown adipocytes through the modulation of thermogenic genes, which suggests that RF has potential as a therapeutic application for the treatment or prevention of obesity.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (no. 2011-0030130, no. 2011–0006220, no. 2012M2B2B1055244, no. 2013R1A2A2A03006068, no. 2010-0022450 and 2013R1A1A2059601).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Metabolic Function Regulation, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea

    M-Y Jeong, H-S So, R Park & S-H Hong

  2. College of Korean Medicine, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea

    M-Y Jeong, H-L Kim, J Park, Y Jung, D-H Youn, S-H Kim & J-Y Um

  3. College of Pharmacy, Dongduk Women’s University, Seoul, Korea

    J-H Lee

  4. Department of Oriental Medicine Resources, College of Environmental & Bioresources Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, Korea

    J-S Jin

  5. Department of Cosmeceutical Science, Daegu Hanny University, Gyeongsan, Korea

    S-J Kim

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Jeong, MY., Kim, HL., Park, J. et al. Rubi Fructus (Rubus coreanus) activates the expression of thermogenic genes in vivo and in vitro. Int J Obes 39, 456–464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.155

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