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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent form of liver disease. Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq, a traditional plant in South Asia, has previously been shown to attenuate obesity and hyperglycaemic conditions. Eight weeks of feeding C57BL/6 mice with the standardized O. aristatus extract (400 mg/kg) inhibited the progression of NAFLD. Liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase were significantly reduced in treated mice by 74.2% ± 7.69 and 52.8% ± 7.83, respectively. Furthermore, the treated mice showed a reduction in serum levels of glucose (50% ± 5.71), insulin (70.2% ± 12.09), total cholesterol (27.5% ± 15.93), triglycerides (63.2% ± 16.5), low-density lipoprotein (62.5% ± 4.93) and atherogenic risk index relative to the negative control. Histologically, O. aristatus reversed hepatic fat accumulation and reduced NAFLD severity. Notably, our results showed the antioxidant activity of O. aristatus via increased superoxide dismutase activity and a reduction of hepatic malondialdehyde levels. In addition, the levels of serum pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-6 and TNFα) decreased, indicating anti-inflammatory activity. The aqueous, hydroethanolic and ethanolic fractions of O. aristatus extract significantly reduced intracellular fat accumulation in HepG2 cells that were treated with palmitic–oleic acid. Together, these findings suggest that antioxidant activities are the primary mechanism of action of O. aristatus underlying the anti-NAFLD effects.

Obesity is recognized as a major life style disorder especially in developing countries and it is prevailing at an alarming speed in new world countries due to fast food intake, industrialization, and reduction of physical activity. Furthermore, it is associated with a vast number of chronic diseases and disabilities. To date, relatively effective drugs, from either natural or synthetic sources, are generally associated with serious side effects, often leading to cessation of clinical trials or even withdrawal from the market. In order to find new compounds which are more effective or with less adverse effects compared to orlistat, the drug that has been approved for obesity, new compounds isolated from natural products are being identified and screened for antiobesity effects, in particular, for their pancreatic lipase inhibitory effect. Pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity has been extensively used for the determination of potential efficacy of natural products as antiobesity agents. In attempts to identify natural products for overcoming obesity, more researches have been focused on the identification of newer pancreatic lipase inhibitors with less unpleasant adverse effects. In this review, we consider the potential role of plants that have been investigated for their pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity.

This study aims to determine the effects of Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. ex Endl., Celastraceae, and its bioactive alkaloid, cathinone, on liver histology, gene expression of inflammatory biomarkers in white adipose tissue, hypothalamus, and histomorphological bone parameters. Thirty male mice (C57BL/6J) were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, divided into 5 groups, and treated daily for another 8 weeks high-fat diet + vehicle (control), HFD + 15 mg/kg orlistat, high-fat diet + 200 mg/kg plant extract, high-fat diet + 400 mg/kg plant extract, and high-fat diet + 3.2mg/kg cathinone. Treatments were carried out once daily by gastric gavage. Blood and tissue samples were collected for histological, biochemical, and gene expression analysis. The results showed the plant extract (400 mg/kg) and cathinone (3.2 mg/kg) displayed a marked reduction of liver fatty changes. All treated groups showed higher serum adiponectin levels compared to the control group ( p <0.05). Plant extract–treated groups showed upregulation of adiponectin gene expression in white adipose tissue, however, at the concentration of 200 mg/kg upregulated interleukin-6 in the hypothalamus; in addition, this group showed less-eroded surfaces and higher bone mass compared to control. Cathinone-treated group exhibited increased osteoblast and osteoclast surfaces compared to the plant extract treatment. The study concluded that the plant extract and cathinone treatment are associated with minimal fat steatosis in the liver of obese mice probably by upregulation of anti-inflammatory adiponectin gene expression in adipose tissue. At the concentration of 200 mg/kg, the plant extract showed a protective effect on bone loss compared to orlistat, while cathinone promotes bone formation and resorption by a centrally mediated mechanism. Graphical Abstract

Background: Khat (Catha edulis) is a plant that is deeply rooted in the cultural life of East African and Southwestern Arabian populations. Prevalent traditional beliefs about khat are that the plant has an effect on appetite and body weight. Summary: This review assesses the accumulated evidences on the mutual influence of monoamines, hormones and neuropeptides that are linked to obesity. A few anti-obesity drugs that exert their mechanisms of action through monoamines are briefly discussed to support the notion of monoamines being a critical target of drug discovery for new anti-obesity drugs. Subsequently, the review provides a comprehensive overview of central dopamine and serotonin changes that are associated with the use of khat or its alkaloids. Then, all the studies on khat that describe physical, biochemical and hormonal changes are summarised and discussed in depth. Conclusion: The reviewed studies provide relatively acceptable evidence that different khat extracts or cathinone produces changes in terms of weight, fat mass, appetite, lipid biochemistry and hormonal levels. These changes are more pronounced at higher doses and long durations of intervention. The most suggested mechanism of these changes is the central action that produces changes in the physiology of dopamine and serotonin. Nonetheless, there are a number of variations in the study design, including species, doses and durations of intervention, which makes it difficult to arrive at a final conclusion about khat regarding obesity, and further studies are necessary in the future to overcome these limitations.