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Abstract
In this study, we investigated the antioxidant and anti-adipogenic activities of aqueous extracts of mugwort and pine needles fermented by Leuconostoc mesenteroides 1076. We also evaluated the phenolic composition, total phenolic content and flavonoid contents of both the fermented mugwort extract (FME) and fermented pine needle extract (FPE). The antioxidant potentials of the FME and FPE were assessed using various antioxidant assays, including the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay, the 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylenebenzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay, the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and the reducing power assay. In addition, the anti-adipogenic effects of the FME and FPE were investigated during the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells. Our results showed that the total phenolic contents of the FME and FPE were 182±4 and 116±5 mg GAE/g, respectively. Among the phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid was found to be the major phenolic acid in the FPE, whereas hesperetin was found to be the major phenolic acid in the FME. The antioxidant activities of the FME and FPE increased in a dose-dependent manner. The FME exhibited higher antioxidant activities than the FPE. Furthermore, both the FME and FPE inhibited lipid accumulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which involved the down-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR γ), adipocyte protein 2 (aP2) and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) mRNA expression. These results indicated that the FPE and FME could be useful in the treatment of obesity and as natural sources of antioxidants.