PUBLICATION

Effects of a Flavonoid-Rich Extract from Citrus sinensis Juice on a Diet-Induced Obese Zebrafish

Authors
Montalbano, G., Mania, M., Guerrera, M.C., Laurà, R., Abbate, F., Levanti, M., Maugeri, A., Germanà, A., Navarra, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-191022-2
Date
2019
Source
International Journal of Molecular Sciences   20(20): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Germanà, Antonino, Guerrera, Maria Cristina, Montalbano, Giuseppe
Keywords
Citrus sinensis, diet-induced obesity, flavonoids, lipolysis, orange juice, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Adipocytes/metabolism
  • Adipose Tissue/metabolism
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers
  • Body Weight
  • Citrus sinensis/chemistry*
  • Diet/adverse effects*
  • Flavonoids/chemistry
  • Flavonoids/pharmacology*
  • Fruit and Vegetable Juices*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Lipolysis
  • Obesity/drug therapy*
  • Obesity/etiology*
  • Obesity/pathology
  • Plant Extracts/chemistry
  • Plant Extracts/pharmacology*
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
31619003 Full text @ Int. J. Mol. Sci.
Abstract
Obesity is a pathological condition that has reached epidemic proportions; hence, it is necessary to find novel strategies aimed at fighting this disease. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of a flavonoid-rich extract of orange (Citrus sinensis) juice (OJe) in diet-induced obese zebrafish.
Adult zebrafish were divided into four diet groups: (i) normally fed (NF); (ii) overfed (OF); (iii) NF supplemented with OJe (5 mL/L in fish water; NF + OJe); and (iv) OF supplemented with OJe (OF + OJe). Each week, body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) were measured, and, at the end of the fifth week, euthanized zebrafish were processed for both microscopic evaluations and qPCR analyses.
In OF zebrafish, OJe significantly decreased both BW and BMI values and lowered the visceral adipose tissue, while it had little effect in the NF group. Moreover, it significantly reduced adipocyte cell size in both NF and OF groups in both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues, as well as their number in OF fish. Finally, OJe modulated some obesity-related genes, such as leptin A, ghrelin, orexin, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), and neuropeptide Y (NPY), in both gut and brain.
This study adds new insights into the anti-obesity properties of orange juice and its flavonoids, suggesting their role as weight management agents through a lipolytic action linked to a restoration of metabolism-regulating gene expression.
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