Saponin from sea cucumber exhibited more significant effects than ginsenoside on ameliorating high fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice.

Obesity and its comorbidities are considered to be a severe public health problem. Many natural compounds found in food have been proved to ameliorate the metabolic abnormalities induced by obesity. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of saponin from sea cucumber (SSC) and ginsenoside (SG) on improving the lipid metabolism in C57BL/6 mice fed with a high fat diet. The mice were randomly divided into six groups including a low fat diet group (LF), a high fat diet group (HF), and four dietary intervention groups. The administration of SSC for 8 weeks exhibited a more significant reduction in HF induced fat mass, weight gain, lipid levels in the liver and serum, and serum glucose and insulin levels than SG. Further research indicated that SSC ameliorated high fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice mainly through inhibiting lipid synthesis and accelerating lipid β-oxidation and glycolysis in the liver. These results suggested that saponin from sea cucumber might be applied as a food supplement and/or functional ingredient to relieve metabolic disorders induced by obesity.