Novel Findings of Anti-obesity Effects of Kanuka (<i>Kunzea </i><i>Ericoides</i>) Leaf Water Extract in Mice: Bile Acid Micelles Disruption Activity

Kanuka is an evergreen tree belonging to the genus Kunzea in the Myrtaceae family, locally, its leaves are primarily consumed as herbal tea, and little is known about its physiological effects or chemical constituents. On the other hand, bile acids play a role in micellizing dietary fats and cholesterols, facilitating their absorption from the intestinal tract into the bloodstream. Therefore, bile acid micelles disruption (BAMD) could inhibit fatty acid absorption and possibly suppress obesity-related blood indexes and body weight gain. In the present study, we found a water-soluble Kanuka (<i>Kunzea ericoides</i>) leaf extract (KWE) that exhibited the following novel significant effects related with obesity: 1) potent BAMD activity (50% BAMD at 0.15 mg/mL); 2) reduced adipose tissue weights of perirenal, peritesticular mass weight compared with the control group, perirenal fat mass weight was significantly increased in the HFD group but was significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the HFD+KWE group, and intrahepatic fat content when compared to the control group, negligible changes were observed in the HFD group, while significantly reductions were observed in the HFD+KWE group; and 3) lowered blood indexes (total cholesterols and triglyceride levels) with reduction tendency towards body weight gain in male C57BL/6J mice. As far as we know, our present endeavor is the first documented study that showed KWE to elicit suppressive effects on obesity-related parameters in mice.