The Synergistic Effect of Lotus Leaf, Chinese Hawthorn, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Red Pepper on Anti-obesity

Hui-Chun Chang¹, Kai-Wen Kan¹, Jia-Haur Chen¹, Yung-Hao Lin², Yung-Hsiang Lin¹ and Chen-Meng Kuan^1,

¹Research & Design Center, TCI CO., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan

²Global Business Center, TCI CO., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan

Cite this paper:
Hui-Chun Chang, Kai-Wen Kan, Jia-Haur Chen, Yung-Hao Lin, Yung-Hsiang Lin and Chen-Meng Kuan. The Synergistic Effect of Lotus Leaf, Chinese Hawthorn, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Red Pepper on Anti-obesity. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2020; 8(3):133-138. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-8-3-3

Abstract

Lotus leaf, Chinese hawthorn, cinnamon, ginger, and red pepper possess noticeable anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and anti-obesity effects in traditional Chinese medicine. Their availability for anti-obesity has been well investigated in the past studies, but the synergistic effect of these components on inhibition of adipogesis of adipocytes and hepatocytes and improvement in lipid metabolism are elusive. The objective of this in-vitro study is to investigate the efficacies of the combination of these ferments (called lotus leaf ferment) regarding anti-obesity and reduction of lipid accumulation in adipocytes and hepatocytes. O Red O staining assay and gene analysis were introduced into the study. In comparison with the control group, the oil content levels in OP9 cells and HepG2 cells after treatment with lotus leaf ferment solutions could be improved by 38% and 56%, respectively. Also, lotus leaf ferment could significantly down-regulate the expression of CEBPa and GLUT4 genes as well as enhance the expression of PLIN1 gene in OP9 cells; the improvement effects on CEBPa, GLUT4, PLIN1 genes were 0.46, 0.44, and 0.23 fold, respectively. On the other hand, as compared with the control group, the expression levels of SCD, PPAR-γ, and PPAR-α were able to be ameliorated by 0.33, 0.4, and 0.4 fold, respectively. In summary, the lotus leaf ferment can improve the lipid reduction and the expression of the lipolysis-, adipogenesis-related genes in adipocytes and hepatocytes. Although the results unveil the early evidences for the efficacy of the lotus leaf ferment, we believe that the combination of herbs (lotus, Chinese hawthorn, cinnamon, ginger, and red pepper ferments) has potential to improve metabolic disorders and manage weight in humans.

Keywords:
lotus leaf Chinese hawthorn cinnamon ginger red pepper anti-obesity

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