Effect of rhubarb free anthraquinones on obesity in rats and its potential mechanism

Objective: The study was to confirm the effect of rhubarb-free anthraquinones (RhA) on anti-obesity and preliminarily explore the possible mechanism of action of RhA. Methods: The obesity model of rats was induced by a high-fat diet to evaluate the effect of RhA on weight reduction and their potential mechanism based on network pharmacology and molecular docking as well as Western blotting analysis. Results: RhA significantly reduced body weight, lipid-body ratio and Lee's index of the obese model rats. The level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol significantly was decreased, and the number of fat droplets and fat cells in the liver tissue of the obese model rats was significantly reduced after treatment. The anti-obesity-related core proteins mainly targeted by RhA were predicted as MAPK8, MAPK14 and CASP3. Aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion had high affinity with these proteins. The relative expression of CASP3 and MAPK8 in the obese model rats was increased at gene and proteins levels after treatment. Conclusion: RhA had significant weight-reducing and blood lipid-lowering effect of obese rats, and they may mainly intervene in obesity by up-regulating the expression levels of MAPK8 and CASP3 protein involved in fat metabolism.