The Edible Brown Seaweed (Turner) C. Agardh Ameliorates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, Diabetes, and Hepatic Steatosis in Mice.

(Turner) C. Agardh () is edible brown seaweed that grows along the coast of East Asia and has been traditionally used as a folk medicine and a local food. In this study, we evaluated the effects of on the development of obesity and related metabolic disorders in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet. was freeze-dried, fine-powdered, and mixed with a high-fat diet at a weight ratio of 2% or 6%. Feeding a high-fat diet to mice for 13 weeks induced obesity, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and hypercholesterolemia. Supplementation of mice with suppressed high-fat diet-induced body weight gain and the accumulation of fat in adipose tissue and liver, and the elevation of the serum glucose level. In addition, improved insulin resistance. An analysis of the feces showed that stimulated the fecal excretion of triglyceride, as well as increased the fecal polysaccharide content. Furthermore, extracts of inhibited the activity of pancreatic lipase in vitro. These results showed that can ameliorate diet-induced metabolic diseases, and the effect may be partly associated with the suppression of intestinal fat absorption.