Chrysanthemum indicum Inhibits Adipogenesis and Activates the AMPK Pathway in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Chrysanthemum indicum (CI) is widely distributed in China and many parts of the tropical world, and has been reported to have antibacterial, antiviral, anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory effects, but no information is available on its effects on high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. This was undertaken to investigate the mechanism responsible for the effect of ethyl acetate fraction of CI (CIEA) on adipogenesis, in vitro and in vivo models of obesity. In the in vitro study, differentiating 3T3-L1 cells were treated with media to initiate differentiation (MDI) in the presence or absence of CIEA with different concentrations, and in the in vivo study, C57BL/6 mice were fed with HFD and administered CIEA daily for six weeks. Garcinia cambogia (GC) was used as the positive control, and was administered in the same manner as CIEA. Results showed CIEA reduced HFD-induced body weight gain, epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), and liver weight. In addition, CIEA significantly decreased serum lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) levels. Furthermore, CIEA also reduced leptin levels and increased adiponectin levels in serum, and significantly decreased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EPBs) levels, but increased PPARα level and the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in eWATs and in the liver tissues of HFD fed obese mice. Taken together, these results indicate CIEA might be beneficial for preventing obesity.