본 연구에서는 천연소재 혼합물이 혈중 지질 함량 및 부고환 지방세포의 크기에 미치는 영향을 측정하였다. 그 결과 혈액 중 총 콜레스테롤과 LDL 콜레스테롤은 천연소재 섭취에 의한 유의적인 감소 효과가 나타나지 않았지만, 중성지방은 정상식이군에서 감소하였고 HDL 콜레스테롤은 정 상식이군에서 증가하였다. 부고환 지방조직은 고지방식이 섭취에 의해 지방세포 크기가 유의적으로 증가되었으나 천연소재 섭취로 인하여 유의적으로 감소하였다. 이는 천연소재섭취에 의해 체지방 축적이 억제되어 지방세포의 hypertrophy를 억제했기 때문으로 사료된다.
Obesity is increasingly recognized as a serious public health threat. Anti-obesity nutraceuticals that are safe and effective for the control and treatment of obesity are the subject of intense research throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of plants such as Akebia quinata, corn silk, Crataegus pinnatifida var. psilosa, Coix lachrymajobi var. mayuen, and Lentinus edodes on fat cell size and serum lipid profile of rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were weighed, randomly assigned and fed AIN-76A basal or high fat diet for 6 weeks. Serum triacylglycerol level of rats fed a normal diet was significantly decreased with natural plants supplementation. Adipocytes from the epididymal fat pads of rats fed a high fat diet were larger than those of rats fed a normal diet. Fat cell size significantly (p<0.05) decreased with natural plants supplementation. Therefore, we found that natural plants supplementation can be used for the treatment of obesity, possibly by decreasing the body fat.
