Tephrosia purpurea Fraction Attenuates Lipid Accumulation and Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes and Reduces Body Weight in High Fat Diet Induced Obese Rats

The anti-adipogenic and anti-obesity activity of chloroform fraction of Tephrosia purpurea (CFTp) on 3T3-L1 adipocytes and high fat diet (HFD)-fed obese rats was evaluated in this study. A substantial and dose dependent inhibition of α-glucosidase (81%) and lipase (75%) activities by CFTp was noticed. Treatment with CFTp (250 μg/mL) significantly inhibited 3T3-L1 adipocytes differentiation and lipid accumulation. A semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of 3T3-L1 cells revealed down regulation of mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl CoA carboxylase-2 (ACC-2), while glucose transporter type-4 (GLUT-4) expression was up-regulated in a dose dependent manner with CFTp. Further, oral administration of CFTp (200 mg/kg.b.wt.) significantly reduced body weight gain, fat mass, blood glucose and leptin levels in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that CFTp possesses potent anti-obesity activities.