Anti-obesity effects of artificial planting blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) anthocyanin in high-fat diet-treated mice

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of artificial planting blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) anthocyanin (BA) in high-fat diet-induced obese male C57BL/6 mice. BA at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg was supplemented in the daily food of obese C57BL/6 mice during an 8-week experiment. Our findings indicate that consumption of BA at high doses reduced body weight by 19.4%, whereas both low and middle doses did not affect the body weight. Furthermore, BA supplementation at high dose could effectively decrease serum glucose, attenuate epididymal adipocytes, improve lipid profiles, and significantly down-regulate expression levels of TNFα, IL-6 PPARγ, and FAS genes. Therefour, BA might alter bodyweight by suppressing fatty acid synthesis and alleviating inflammation.

Keywords:

• Anthocyanin
• artificial planting blueberry
• high-fat diet
• obesity

Funding information

Financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31501475; 31571029), Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (No. 15JCQNJC46300; 15JCYBJC30300), College students innovation and entrepreneurship training program and laboratory Innovation Fund of Tianjin University of Science and Technology (No. 201510057142; 1403A301) are gratefully acknowledged.