Zizyphus lotus L. fruit attenuates obesity-associated alterations: in vivo mechanisms.

Zizyphus lotus L., ZL is a Mediterranean plant and widely consumed for its beneficial medicinal properties.

We assessed the effects of ZL fruit on diet-induced obesity.Male C57BL/6j mice were divided into three groups. Each group received either a standard diet or a high-fat diet, HFD (30% of palm oil, w/v) or a HFD-supplemented with ZL fruit powder (10%, w/w) for six weeks, followed by a six weeks period, in which animals were maintained on the HFD and ZL aqueous extract (1%, w/v). We measured plasma parameters and assessed the expression of key genes involved in energy metabolism and inflammation.ZL fruit improved glycaemia, lipids concentrations and inflammation in obese mice.Our investigations showed that ZL fruit improved glucose tolerance, dyslipidaemia and fatty liver disease, but not the severity of HFD-induced obesity in mice.