Combined Ethanol Extract of Grape Pomace and Omija Fruit Ameliorates Adipogenesis, Hepatic Steatosis, and Inflammation in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of grape pomace ethanol extract (GPE) with or without omija fruit ethanol extract (OFE) on adiposity, hepatic steatosis, and inflammation in diet-induced obese mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) as the control diet and HFD plus GPE (0.5%, w/w) with or without OFE (0.05%, w/w) as the experimental diet for 12 weeks. GPE alone did not significantly affect adipogenesis and hepatic steatosis. However, the supplementation of GPE + OFE significantly lowered body weight gain, white adipose tissue weight, adipocyte size, and plasma free fatty acid and adipokines (leptin, PAI-1, IL-6, and MCP-1) levels in HFD-fed mice compared to those of the control group. These beneficial effects of GPE + OFE were partly related to the decreased expression of lipogenic and inflammatory genes in white adipose tissue. GPE + OFE supplementation also significantly lowered liver weight and ameliorated fatty liver by inhibiting expression of hepatic genes involved in fatty acid and cholesterol syntheses as well as inflammation and by activating hepatic fatty acid oxidation. These findings suggest that the combined ethanol extract of grape pomace and omija fruit has the potential to improve adiposity and fatty liver in diet-induced obese mice.