New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Not just for the holidays, mistletoe could fight obesity-related liver disease

Date:
December 17, 2014
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Mistletoe hanging in doorways announces that the holidays are just around the corner. For some people, however, the symbolic plant might one day represent more than a kiss at Christmas time: It may mean better liver health. Researchers have found that a compound produced by a particular variety of the plant can help fight obesity-related liver disease in mice.
Share:
FULL STORY

Mistletoe hanging in doorways announces that the holidays are just around the corner. For some people, however, the symbolic plant might one day represent more than a kiss at Christmas time: It may mean better liver health. Researchers have found that a compound produced by a particular variety of the plant can help fight obesity-related liver disease in mice. Their study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Jungkee Kwon and colleagues note that, according to recent research, Korean mistletoe produces a number of biologically active compounds. These include familiar ones such as steroids and flavonoids. Also, extracts from the plant have shown anti-obesity effects, but no one had confirmed which specific molecules were involved. Kwon's team wanted to investigate the matter and see if the key ingredient could also help fight fatty liver disease, which is associated with obesity and can progress to liver failure in some cases.

The researchers identified viscothionin as the compound in Korean mistletoe that affects fat metabolism in the liver. When they treated obese mice with it, their body and liver weights dropped. The scientists conclude that viscothionin could be explored as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation.


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sokho Kim, Dongho Lee, Jae-Kyung Kim, Jae-Hun Kim, Jong-Heum Park, Ju-Woon Lee, Jungkee Kwon. Viscothionin Isolated from Korean Mistletoe Improves Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via the Activation of Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2014; 62 (49): 11876 DOI: 10.1021/jf503535s

Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Not just for the holidays, mistletoe could fight obesity-related liver disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217101334.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2014, December 17). Not just for the holidays, mistletoe could fight obesity-related liver disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217101334.htm
American Chemical Society. "Not just for the holidays, mistletoe could fight obesity-related liver disease." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217101334.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES