Antiobesity Efficacy of Quercetin-Rich Supplement on Diet-Induced Obese Rats: Effects on Body Composition, Serum Lipid Profile, and Gene Expression

The antiobesity effects of quercetin-rich supplement (QRS), which contain quercetin, lycopene, taurine, and litchi flower extract, on a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats were investigated. The rats that consume HFD with QRS (185 mg/kg rat) have significantly modulated the final body weights [490 ± 11 (HFD) → 441 ± 11 (HFD+QRS) g], total body fat [112.9 ± 4.5 (HFD) → 86.6 ± 5.7 (HFD+QRS) g], liver weights [14.8 ± 0.4 (HFD) → 12.6 ± 0.4 (HFD+QRS) g/rat], and the serum TG [102.5 ± 7.3 (HFD) → 90.7 ± 6.5 (HFD+QRS) mg/dL] to a level that resembled the regular diet-consumed rats (p < 0.05). The excretion of lipid in the faeces augmented in QRS groups as compared with the nonsupplemented HFD group [faecal total lipid: 62.43 ± 2.80 (HFD) → 73.15 ± 0.88 (HFD+QRS) mg/g dried faeces, p < 0.05]. In the histological analysis, quercetin-rich formulation supplemented groups presented a much less lipid accumulation and smaller size of adipocytes. Moreover, a decreased serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [1.55 ± 0.17 (HFD) → 0.78 ± 0.04 (HFD+QRS) nmol MDA eq/mL serum] increased levels of serum Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity [3.89 ± 0.08 (HFD) → 6.46 ± 0.20 (HFD+QRS) μmol/mL serum], and more active hepatic antioxidant enzymes were observed in the supplemented groups (p < 0.05). The result of this work is a good demonstration of how a combination of bioactive compounds could work synergistically and become very effective in disease prevention.