OHR-LCMS based chemical profiling and dietary effects of morel mushroom Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. on diet-induced obese zebrafish: Insights from physiological, biochemical, histological and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Obesity is a complex metabolic disease caused by an energy imbalance, characterized by excessive weight gain, adiposity and disturbed lipid metabolism. Though several pharmacological anti-obesity drugs are available, their side effects have promoted interests towards natural alternatives. Edible mushrooms because of their rich bioactive constituents have emerged as capable anti-obesity agents. In this context, present study aims to examine the bioactive metabolite present in M. esculenta and its effects for managing diet-induced obesity in zebrafish. Preliminary phytochemical analysis confirmed the presence of different bioactive constituents, which were further characterized through Orbitrap High-Resolution Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (OHR-LCMS), leading to the identification of 38 different metabolites. In-vitro pancreatic lipase inhibition assays confirmed concentration dependent enzyme suppression by aqueous extract of M. esculenta with IC50 value of 130.31 ± 0.39 μg/mL. In-vivo assessment using a diet-induced obese zebrafish model revealed significant reductions in body weight, size, body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood glucose level after dietary supplementation with M. esculenta fruiting bodies powder. Serum lipid profiling also depicted improvements by dropping levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and increasing in high density lipoprotein (HDL). Histopathological examination of adipose tissue revealed decreased adipocyte hypertrophy and adipocyte count. Furthermore, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy of blood serum showed attenuated lipid and protein associated vibrational intensities in M. esculenta supplemented group. Collectively, these findings highlight the potential of M. esculenta supplementation as a natural, multi-target approach for management of obesity and related metabolic impairments.