Obesity is associated with disrupted energy homeostasis and intestinal dysbiosis. Caulis Spatholobi, traditional Chinese medicine for herbal therapy, contains a wide range of bioactive compounds and has a specific pharmacological function. However, its effects on obesity and related metabolic disorder have remained largely unexplored. In this study, we showed that the water extract of Caulis Spatholobi (WECS) has a significant effect in inhibiting body weight gain, decreasing adiposity, maintaining glucose homeostasis, reducing insulin resistance and improving hepatic steatosis in diet-introduced obesity (DIO) mice. Besides, the administration of WECS significantly increased the expression levels of genes involved in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation and thermogenesis in DIO mice. Also, the activation of BAT treated with WECS was also confirmed in BAT primary cells. Mechanisms, the improvement of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance may be related to the upregulated MAPK and AMPK pathways in white adipose tissue (WAT) and BAT. Notably, WECS also improved the obesity-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, which induced an increase of anti-obesity and anti-diabetes related bacteria genus. In conclusion, Caulis Spatholobi can ameliorate obesity through activating brown adipose tissue and modulating the composition of gut microbiota. Our findings provide a novel perspective on Chinese medicine applications and provide a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders.
Keywords: Caulis Spatholobi; brown adipose tissue; energy expenditure; gut microbiota; obesity.