BACKGROUND Obesity is a multifactorial chronic disease that comprises several pathological events, such as adipose hypertrophy, fatty liver and insulin resistance. Inflammation is a key contributer to development of these events, and therefore, targeting inflammation is increasingly considered for management of obesity and its complications. The aim of the current study was to investigate therapeutic outcomes of anti-inflammatory activities of the natural compound Silibinin in reversing obesity and its complication in mice. METHODS C57BL/6 male mice were fed high-fat diet for 8 weeks until development of obesity, and then injected with 50 mg/kg silibinin intraperitoneally twice per week, or vehicle for 8 weeks. Throughout the experiment, mice were continuously checked for body weight and food intake, and glucose tolerance test was performed toward the end of the experiment. Animals were sacrificed and serum and tissues were collected for biochemical, histological, and gene expression analysis to assess silibinin effects on adipose inflammation, fat accumulation, liver adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis. RESULTS Silibinin treatment reversed adipose tissue inflammation and adipocyte hypertrophy, and blocked progression in weight gain and obesity development with no significant effects on rates of food intake. Silibinin also reversed fatty liver disease and restored glucose homeostasis in treated animals, and reversed hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia. CONCLUSION In this study, we demonstrated that silibinin as an anti-inflammatory therapy is a potential alternative to manage obesity, as well as its related complications. Moreover, silibinin-based therapies could further evolve as a novel treatment to manage various inflammation-driven disorders.

中文翻译：

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在饮食诱导的肥胖症模型中，水飞蓟宾可减轻脂肪组织炎症并逆转肥胖症及其并发症。

背景技术肥胖症是一种多因素慢性疾病，其包括几种病理事件，例如脂肪肥大，脂肪肝和胰岛素抵抗。炎症是导致这些事件发展的关键因素，因此，针对肥胖及其并发症的治疗越来越多地考虑针对炎症。本研究的目的是研究天然化合物水飞蓟宾在小鼠肥胖中的抗炎活性及其并发症的治疗效果。方法对C57BL / 6雄性小鼠高脂饮食喂养8周，直到肥胖发生，然后每周两次腹膜内注射50 mg / kg水飞蓟宾或8周溶媒。在整个实验过程中，不断检查小鼠的体重和食物摄入量，实验结束时进行了葡萄糖耐量试验。处死动物并收集血清和组织用于生化，组织学和基因表达分析，以评估水飞蓟宾对脂肪炎症，脂肪蓄积，肝脂肪形成和葡萄糖稳态的作用。结果水飞蓟宾治疗可逆转脂肪组织炎症和脂肪细胞肥大，并阻止体重增加和肥胖症发展，对摄食率没有明显影响。水飞蓟宾还可以逆转脂肪肝疾病并恢复治疗动物的葡萄糖稳态，并逆转高血糖，高胰岛素血症和高甘油三酸酯血症。结论在这项研究中，我们证明了水飞蓟宾作为一种抗炎疗法是控制肥胖的潜在替代方法，及其相关的并发症。此外，基于水飞蓟宾的疗法可能会进一步发展为一种新的治疗各种炎症引起的疾病的疗法。