Thursday, November 05, 2015

Brazilian Propolis May Help Treat Obesity

Brazilian propolis extract increases leptin expression in mouse adipocytes

Biomed Res. 2015;36(5):343-6

We investigated the anti-obesity effects of Brazilian green propolis ethanol extract using a mouse model of obesity. Repeated intraperitoneal injection of propolis (100 mg/kg twice a week) caused feeding suppression in C57BL/6 mice, whereas this treatment had negligible effects on C57BL/6 ob/ob mice. Since C57BL/6 ob/ob mice have a missense mutation in the Lep gene, leptin is likely to contribute to the propolis-induced feeding suppression.

We found that propolis treatment indeed clearly increased leptin mRNA production in the visceral adipose tissues. Moreover, propolis extract directly elevated leptin expression in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Artepillin C, an important organic compound found in Brazilian green propolis, failed to induce leptin mRNA in 3T3-L1 cells.

Compounds other than artepillin C in Brazilian propolis must thus cause leptin induction in adipocytes, possibly resulting in the suppression of feeding and obesity.

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