Effect of Liposomal Protium heptaphyllum (Alb.) March Extract in the Treatment of Obesity Induced by High-Calorie Diet

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 7; p. 535
• Main Authors: Patias, Naiéle Sartori, de Queiroz, Eveline Aparecida Isquierdo Fonseca, Ferrarini, Stela Regina, Bomfim, Gisele Facholi, Aguiar, Danilo Henrique, Sinhorin, Adilson Paulo, Bello, Alexandre Aymberé, da Silva, Geovana Vicentini Fazolo, Cavalheiro, Larissa, Sinhorin, Valéria Dornelles Gindri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17-07-2024
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Adipose tissue; Analgesics; Analysis; Animal models; Animals; Anti-inflammatory agents; Antioxidants; Body fat; Body weight; Body weight gain; Chromatography; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Cytokines; Dextrose; Diabetes mellitus; Diet; Drug dosages; Dyslipidemia; Esters; Ethyl acetate; Flavonoids; Food consumption; Glucose; Inflammation; Interleukins; Kinases; Laboratories; Lactates; Leaves; Liposomes; Liver; Medical treatment; Medicine, Botanic; Medicine, Herbal; metabolism; Nanotechnology; Natural products; Obesity; Oxidative stress; Particle size; Pharmaceutical industry; Protium heptaphyllum; Superoxide; Superoxide dismutase; Toxicity; Traditional medicine; Triglycerides; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Ultrasonic imaging; Brazil; United States; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; cytokines; metabolism; obesity; oxidative stress; Protium heptaphyllum
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology13070535

Obesity, a chronic disease, resulted from excessive consumption of high-calorie foods, leading to an energy imbalance.
(
) was used in folk medicine for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties. The association of the extract from
with nanotechnology was innovative for combining high technology with active ingredients that are easily accessible in the Amazon region. This study evaluated the effect of liposomes containing the ethyl acetate fraction of the crude extract of
leaves on obesity. Male Wistar rats treated with a high-calorie diet for 8 weeks to induce obesity received treatment with the liposome formulation containing
extract (1 mg/kg/day, via gavage) for 14 days. Morphological, metabolic, redox status, immunological, and histological parameters were evaluated in the adipose and liver tissue of the animals. The groups were divided as follows: C: control; P: liposomes containing extract; O: obese, and OP: obese + liposomes containing extract. The obesity model resulted in increases in body weight, caloric intake, body fat weight, and in the lipid profile. In adipose tissue, P decreased SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity in obese animals. In the liver, a positive modulation of the extract was observed in relation to glucose, amino acids, lactate, hepatoprotective action, and anti-inflammatory activity, with a decrease in interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in obese animals. The results showed an improvement in the functional and inflammatory aspects, but the treatment was not effective in alleviating general changes related to obesity, such as weight gain, fat, glucose, triglycerides, and inflammation in adipose tissue, highlighting the complexity of responses in different organs during obesity and treatment with
.