Anti-obesity Effect and Action Mechanism of Dansam-Samultang in C57BL/6 Obese Mice Fed High Fat Diet

This study investigated the anti-obesity mechanism and effects of Dansam (Salvia miltiorrhiza)-Samultang(mixed herbal medicine). For this, C57BL/6 was divided into five groups: a normal group (N) with regular diet, a control group (C) with high-fat diet (HFD), an ‘HFD+0.5% catechin’ supplemented positive control group (PC), a ‘HFD+0.5% Dansam-Samultang’ supplemented experimental group (E1), and a ‘HFD+0.1% Dansam-Samultang’ supplemented experimental group (E2). Compared to the C, the E1 and E2 revealed significant improvement in body weight changes, hematological/ serum-biochemical data and total antioxidant status (TAS) in the adipose tissues of epididymis and the liver. From the perspective of molecular biology, Adiponectin, AMPK and PPARα revealed significant increases in the experimental groups in comparison to the control group. In contrast, TNFα, GPDH and PPARγ showed statistically significant decreases in the experimental groups, compared to the control group. These results found the mechanism and anti-obesity effects of Dansam-Samultang through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, it appears that Dansam-Samultang would be useful as a natural substance for the prevention and treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome caused by oxidative stress.