LAUSR

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica is a larch tree used in traditional herbal remedies to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases. The root bark of Ulmus davidiana is used as a traditional drug for the treatment of inflammation, edema, gastric cancer and mastitis in Korea, including East Asia. This study was conducted in U. davidiana var. Japonica (UDE). The main purpose was to study lipid metabolism and anti-obesity efficacy using ethyl alcohol extract.. For this study, first, HPLC was performed to quantify the level of (+)-catechin, the active ingredient of UDE. In the following experiments, cultured 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD) induced murine model were studied for anti-obesity efficacy tests with lipid metabolism effects of UDE and (+)-catechin. In the test using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes, treatment with UDE inhibited adipocyte differentiation and significantly reduced the production of adipogenic genes and transcription factors PPARγ, C/EBPα and SREBP-1c. HFD-induced obese mice were subjected to a high fat diet, and administered with UDE (200mg/kg per day) and (+)-catechin (30mg/kg per day) by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Weight gain, epididymal and abdominal adipose tissue mass were significantly reduced, and a change in adipocyte size was observed in the UDE and (+)-catechin treatment groups compared to the untreated control group (*** P <0.001). Significantly lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were detected in UDE-treated HFD compared to the control, revealing the efficacy of UDE. In addition, it was found that lipid accumulation in hepatocytes was also significantly reduced after administration of UDE. These results suggest that UDE has significance in anti-obesity and lipid metabolism effects through inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis.