COMPOSITION CONTAINING LITCHI SEED EXTRACT FOR PREVENTING OR TREATING FATTY LIVER OR OBESITY

摘要

The present invention relates to a composition containing extracts of Litchi seed for preventing or treating fatty liver or obesity. The composition of the present invention may induce the reduction of body fat mass, intestinal fat mass, total cholesterol concentration, levels of C/EBPa and PPAR?2 which are important factors of nuclear transcription in generating fat tissue, and the expression amounts of the aP2 gene which is the target gene of C/EBPa and PPAR?2, and eventually activate the prevention or treatment of obesity. The composition of the present invention may inhibit the progression of fatty liver diseases and treat same by maintaining the morphological, structural, and physiological functions of the liver, in addition to having the effect of preventing the development said fatty liver diseases. Moreover, the composition of the present invention may improve fat accumulation in liver tissue by reducing the lipid content level in the liver tissue, and may have the effects of preventing the development of fatty liver, inhibiting the progression or improving the condition of patients by normalizing liver function marker enzyme expression. In addition, the present invention provides preliminary data showing that Litchi seed extracts, as a medicinal material and food, are efficacious in preventing and treating fatty liver diseases.