Anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deitoidea var. deltoidea and var. angustifolia on 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Objective： This study examined the anti-adipogenic effects of extracts of Ficus deltoidea var. deltoidia and var. angustifolia, a natural slimming aid, on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methods： Methanol and water extracts of leaves of the F. deltoidea varieties were analyzed to determine their total flavonoid content （TFC） and total phenolic content （TPC）, respectively. The study was initiated by determining the maximum non-toxic dose （MNTD） of the methanol and water extracts for 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Possible anti-adipogenic effects were then examined by treating 2-d post confluent 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with either methanol extract or water extract at MNTD and half MNTD （1/2MNTD）, after which the preadipocytces were induced to form mature adipocytes. Visualisation and quantification of lipid content in mature adipocytes were carried out through oil red O staining and measurement of optical density （OD） at 520 nm, respec- tively. Results： The TFCs of the methanol extracts were 1.36 and 1.97 g quercetin equivalents （QE）/100 g dry weight （DW）, while the TPCs of the water extracts were 5.61 and 2.73 g gallic acid equivalents （GAE）/100 g DW for var. deltoidea and var. angustilofia, respectively. The MNTDs determined for methanol and water extracts were （300.0±28.3） and （225.0±21.2） μg/ml, respectively, for var. deltoidea, while much lower MNTDs [（60.0±2.0） IJg/ml for methanol extracts and （8.0＋1.0） μg/ml for water extracts] were recorded for var. angustifolia. Studies revealed that the methanol extracts of both varieties and the water extracts of var. angustifolia at either MNTD or 1/2MNTD significantly inhibited the maturation of preadipocytes. Conclusions： The inhibition of the formation of mature adipocytes indicated that leaf extracts of F. deltoidea could have potential anti-obesity effects.

Anti-neuroinflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV2 microglial cells upon treatment with methanol extract of Panax ginseng root

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the anti-neuroinflammatory properties of Panax ginseng(P.ginseng)root by measuring the levels of nitric oxide(NO),tumour necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),and interleukin-10(IL-10)in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia cells.METHODS:Maximal non-toxic dose(MNTD)of methanol extract of P.ginseng root culture on BV2 microglia cells was first determined via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay,followed by treatment and LPS stimulation of cells,and the measurement of NO using Griess assay and TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-10 using ELISA assay.RESULTS:The MNTD of P.ginseng root extract was determined to be(587±57)µg/mL.Following that,NO and IL-6 levels were found to be insignificantly reduced by 6.88%and 0.14%respectively in stimulated cells upon treatment with MNTD.Treatment with½MNTD yielded similar insignificant result,with only a reduction of 3.58%and 0.08%in NO and IL-6 levels respectively.However,TNF-αand IL-10 levels were significantly downregulated by 15.64%and 34.96%respectively upon treatment with P.ginseng root extract at MNTD.CONCLUSION:Methanol extract of P.ginseng root culture did not show any significant anti-inflammatory effects on NO and IL-6 levels,but might potentially possess both anti-neuroinflammatory and pro-neuroinflammatory properties through the downregulation of TNF-αand IL-10 respectively.