C-phycocyanin extracted from Spirulina using a green solvent approach presents an anti-obesity characteristic in mice fed a hyperlipidic diet
Aristóteles Passos Araújo Neto, Camilly Fratelli, Vincenzo Pucci, Valter Tadeu Boldarine, Yasmin Alaby Martins Ferreira, Mônica Marques Telles, Anna Rafaela Cavalcante Braga, Lila Missae Oyama
Abstract
The effects of C-phycocyanin extract, obtained from Spirulina biomass using a sustainable method with water as solvent, on the white adipose tissue of male mice fed a high-fat diet were evaluated. The normolipid diet and C-phycocyanin groups were similar regarding body mass gain, leptin concentration and phosphorylated protein nuclear factor kappa B p-50 subunit expression. The C-phycocyanin group showed a notable reduction in serum resistin (88.18 ± 31.54, normolipid diet 158.5 ± 52.43) (pg/mL) and the concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (p < 0.05) in 16 weeks of treatment within the retroperitoneal white adipose tissue. The high-fat diet has been associated with obesity development, and the utilization of artificial dyes has been linked to adverse effects. However, C-phycocyanin, a natural pigment, demonstrated promising outcomes. Our findings suggest that the C-phycocyanin extract effectively inhibited body mass gain, regulated leptin and resistin levels, and prevented the increase a pro-inflammatory state.