The Great Healing Potential Hidden in Plant Preparations of Antioxidant Properties: A Return to Nature?

Table 17

The protective effects of plant origin materials in animal models of obesity.

Reference	Plant extract, dose, way and time of treatment, and animals	Inducing factor and negative effects	Protective effects of plant material	Effects of plant per se
de Oliveira et al. [43]	Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) seed hydroalcoholic extract; 300 mg/kg/d, i.g., for 12 weeks; Male mice C57BL/6, 4 weeks	Diet-induced obesity; 60% fat diet for 12 weeks; Epididymal and retroperitoneal fat mass ↑; Body weight gain↑; Liver/body weight: ↑; Glikaemia: ↑; Plasma: adiponectin ↓, leptin ↑; Serum: TC, TG, LDL, VLDL ↑; Liver: SOD, CAT, GPx ↓, cholesterol, TG, MDA, PC ↑; Liver expression of lipogenic proteins: pAMPK, pACC/ACC ↓,; SREBP-1c, HMG-CoA-R ↑	Epididymal and retroperitoneal fat mass (++); Body weight gain (++); Liver/body weight: (+++); Glikaemia: (++); Plasma: leptin, adiponectin (+++); Serum: TC, TG, LDL, VLDL (++); Liver: cholesterol, TG (++), SOD, CAT, GPx, PC (+++), MDA (↓), CAT (↑); Liver expression of lipogenic proteins: pAMPK, SREBP-1c, HMG-CoA-R, pACC/ACC (+++)	Liver: TG ↓, SOD ↑
Budriesi et al. [133]	Castanea sativa Mill bark extract (ENC®, SilvaTeam S.p.a., San Michele Mondovì, Italy); 20 mg/kg, p.o., for 21 days; Male Sprague-Dawley rats, 9-week-old, 270-300 g	High-fat diet for 10 weeks and then during extract administration; Body weight gain: ↑; Serum: TC, LDL-c, TG ↑, HDL-c ↓; Plasma: IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-12p70, IL-17A, IL-18, TNF-α ↑, IL-4, IL-10, IL-13 ↓; Liver: SOD, GSSG-red, UDPGT ↓; Ileum: MDA ↑; Colon: MDA ↑	Body weight gain: (++); Serum: TG (++), TC, LDL-c, HDL-c (+++); Plasma: IL-1β (-), IL-5, IL-18 (0), IL-7, TNF-α (+), IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12pro70, IL-4, IL-10 (++), IL-17A, IL-13 (+++); Liver: UDPGT (++), SOD, GSSG-red (↑); Ileum: MDA (+++); Colon: MDA (++)	Liver: SOD ↑; Ileum: MDA ↑
El Ayed et al. [132]	10% ethanol extract of Vitis vinifera grape seed (50%) and skin (50%); 500 mg/kg b.w., i.p., daily for 6 weeks; Male Wistar rats, 210–230 g	High-fat diet (40% fat, 45% carbohydrate, 15% protein) for 6 weeks; Body and lung weight: ↑; Lung lipid content: ↑; Plasma: adiponectin, HDL-c ↓, CRP, TG, TC, VLDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c, LDL-c ↑; Lung: CAT, SOD, Zn, Mg ↓, MDA, lipase, Ca, Fe ↑	Body and lung weight: (+++); Lung lipid content: (+++); Plasma: CRP and adiponectin (++), TG, TC, VLDL-c, LDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c, HDL-c (+++); Lung: MDA (++), CAT, SOD, lipase, Mg, Zn, Ca, Fe (+++)	Plasma: TG, TC, VLDL-c, LDL-c, HDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c ↓; Lung: Zn ↑, MDA, Mg ↓
Qiu et al. [61]	Hedansanqi Tiaozhi Tang (a Chinese herbal prescription) contains four traditional Chinese herbal medicines: Panax notoginseng dry root, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge dry root, Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. fruit, Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn leaf; 350, 700, 1400 mg/kg/day, i.g., once a day, for 4 weeks; Male Sprague-Dawley rats, 180–190 g	Hyperlipidaemia induced by high-fat diet (2% cholesterol, 10% lard, 10% egg yolk, 0.5% bile sodium, 77.5% standard diet (), for 4 weeks; Body weight ↑; Serum: TC, TG, LDL-c, AST, ALT, MDA ↑, HDL-c, SOD, CAT, GPx, T-AOC↓; Liver: T-AOC, SOD, CAT and GPx ↓, TC, TG, MDA ↑; Liver: steatosis, lobular inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning ↑	Body weight: (+ 350, ++ 700 and 1400); Serum: LDL-c, TC, (+ 350, ++ 700 and 1400), CAT (+ 350, +++ 700 and 1400), TG, GPx (++ 350 and 700, +++ 1400), T-AOC, MDA, SOD (++ 350, +++ 700 and 1400), HDL-c, ALT, AST, (+++ all doses); Liver: MDA (+ 350, +++ 700 and 1400), TC, TG, GPx (++ 350 and 700, +++ 1400), T-AOC, CAT (++ 350, +++ 700 and 1400), SOD (+++ all doses); Liver: steatosis (+ all doses), lobular inflammation (++ all doses), hepatocellular ballooning (++ 350 and 700, +++ 1400)	4200 mg/kg studied: none
Sheng et al. [33]	Morus alba var. multicaulis (Perrott.) Loud. (mulberry) leaves; 20% mulberry leaf powder addition to high fat diet, 13 weeks; Male C57BL/6J mice, 4-week-old, 15-20 g	Obesity caused by high fat diet (60% calories from fat), provided before (around 8 weeks) and during mulberry administration; Body weight, fat mass ↑; BAT: body weight ratio ↓; Fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin ↑; HOMA-IR ↑; Serum: AST, CR↑	Body weight: (++ beginning from 6^th week of treatment); Fat mass and BAT: body weight ratio (++), fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin (++), HOMA-IR (+++); Serum: AST, CR (+++)	Not studied

↓: a decrease vs. control; ↑: an increase vs. control; (+): a slight beneficial effect; (++): a distinct beneficial effect; (+++): a complete beneficial effect; (0): no beneficial effect; (-): intensification of the harmful effect.