Camellia nitidissima Chi is an edible medicinal plant that has potential antiobesity effects. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. The results showed that Camellia nitidissima Chi flower extracts (CNFE) had a strong inhibitory effect on pancreatic lipase (PL), pancreatic cholesterol esterase (CEase) and cholesterol micellization in a significant dose-dependent manner. The IC₅₀ of PL, CEase, and cholesterol solubility were 320, 200, and 600 μg/mL, respectively. Kinetic analysis showed that CNFE inhibited PL and CEase activity as a noncompetitive inhibitor. CNFE changed the microenvironment and conformation of both enzymes, which caused a decrease in enzymatic activities. Furthermore, experiments in rats showed that CNFE effectively reduced food intake and increased feces total triglycerides and total cholesterol excretion. These results not only highlight the inhibitory effect of CNFE against PL and CEase in vitro and in vivo, but also provide a starting point for the application of CNFE in weight reduction programs.

茶花茶是一种可食用的药用植物，具有潜在的抗肥胖作用。但是，其潜在机制尚不清楚。结果表明，山茶花提取物（CNFE）对胰腺脂肪酶（PL），胰腺胆固醇酯酶（CEase）和胆固醇胶束化具有明显的剂量依赖性。IC ₅₀PL，CEase和胆固醇溶解度分别为320、200和600μg/ mL。动力学分析表明，CNFE作为非竞争性抑制剂抑制PL和CEase活性。CNFE改变了这两种酶的微环境和构象，导致酶活性降低。此外，在大鼠中进行的实验表明，CNFE可有效减少食物摄入并增加粪便中的总甘油三酸酯和总胆固醇排泄量。这些结果不仅突显了CNFE在体外和体内对PL和CEase的抑制作用，而且为CNFE在减肥计划中的应用提供了起点。