The present study investigated the possible anti-obesity and hypoglycemic effects of Poncirus trifoliata L. extracts. Mature fruit were divided into flavedo (PF) and juice sacs (PJ), and extracts from them were tested on C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for thirteen weeks. Both fruit extracts (40 mg/kg body weight, respectively) showed anti-obesity and hypoglycemic effects. Consumption of PF and PJ extracts reduced body weight by 9.21% and 20.27%, respectively. Liver and adipose weights, fasting glucose, serum triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels decreased significantly, while serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and oral glucose tolerance levels increased significantly in response to two fruit extracts. These effects were due in part to the modulation of serum insulin, leptin, and adiponectin. Furthermore, transcript levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) were reduced while those of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α (CPT1α) and insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) were increased in the liver of C57BL/6 mice, which might be an important mechanism affecting lipid and glucose metabolism. Taken together, P. trifoliata fruit can be potentially used to prevent or treat obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
Keywords: Poncirus trifoliata; anti-obesity; diabetes; hypoglycemic; obesity.