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eCAM Advance Access published online on June 8, 2009
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep052
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© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Preventive Effects of Salacia reticulata on Obesity and Metabolic Disorders in TSOD Mice

Tomoko Akase1,2,*, Tsutomu Shimada2,*, Yukiko Harasawa3, Tomohide Akase4, Yukinobu Ikeya2,5, Eiichi Nagai2,6, Seiichi Iizuka2, Gojiro Nakagami1, Shinji Iizaka1, Hiromi Sanada1 and Masaki Aburada2

1Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, 2Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Musashino University, 1-1-20 Shinmachi Nishitokyo-shi, Tokyo 202-8585, 3Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa 920-1192, 4Department of Pharmacy, Saiseikai Yokohama Tobu-Hospital, 3-6-1 Simosueyoshi Turumi-ku Yokohama-city Kanagawa 230-0012, 5Department of Pharmacy, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577 and 6Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, North-15, West-7, Kita-ku, Hokkaido, 060-8638, Japan

The extracts of Salacia reticulata (Salacia extract), a plant that has been used for the treatment of early diabetes, rheumatism and gonorrhea in Ayurveda, have been shown to have an anti-obesity effect and suppress hyperglycemia. In this study, the effects of Salacia extract on various symptoms of metabolic disorder were investigated and compared using these TSOD mice and non-obese TSNO mice. Body weight, food intake, plasma biochemistry, visceral and subcutaneous fat (X-ray and CT), glucose tolerance, blood pressure and pain tolerance were measured, and histopathological examination of the liver was carried out. A significant dose-dependent decline in the gain in body weight, accumulation of visceral and subcutaneous fat and an improvement of abnormal glucose tolerance, hypertension and peripheral neuropathy were noticed in TSOD mice. In addition, hepatocellular swelling, fatty degeneration of hepatocytes, inflammatory cell infiltration and single-cell necrosis were observed on histopathological examination of the liver in TSOD mice. Salacia extract markedly improved these symptoms upon treatment. Based on the above results, it is concluded that Salacia extract has remarkable potential to prevent obesity and associated metabolic disorders including the development of metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: anti-obesity effect – fatty degeneration – metabolic syndrome – Salacia – TSOD

For reprints and all correspondence: Masaki Aburada, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Musashino University, 1-1-20 Shinmachi Nishitokyo-shi, Tokyo 202-8585, Japan. Tel: +81-42-468-9178; Fax: +81-42-468-9178; E-mail: aburada{at}musashino-u.ac.jp

*These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received December 22, 2008; accepted April 23, 2009


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