Anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects of ethanol extract of Artemisia princeps in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet.

Artemisia princeps is commonly used as a food ingredient and in traditional Asian medicine. In this study, we examined the effects of long-term administration of an ethanol extract of A. princeps (APE) on body weight, white adipose tissue, blood glucose, insulin, plasma and hepatic lipids, and adipocytokines in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet. Daily feeding of a 1% APE diet for 14 weeks normalized elevated body weight, white adipose tissue, and plasma glucose and insulin levels, and delayed impaired glucose tolerance in mice a fed high-fat diet. These events were not observed in mice fed a control diet containing 1% APE. Liver triglyceride and cholesterol levels were similar in mice fed a 1% APE-diet and those fed a control diet. In the high-fat diet groups, APE inhibited hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) and suppressed the elevation of plasma leptin, but had no effect on adiponectin levels. These findings suggest that the regulation of leptin secretion by APE may inhibit FAS activity with subsequent suppression of triglyceride accumulation in the liver and adipose tissues. Inhibition of lipid accumulation can, in turn, lead to improvements in impaired glucose tolerance.