Dietary Intake of Immature Citrus tumida Hort. ex Tanaka Peels Suppressed Body Weight Gain and Fat Accumulation in a Mouse Model of Acute Obesity

Citrus fruits have several potential benefits for maintaining our health. In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity effects of immature Citrus tumida hort. ex Tanaka (C. tumida) peels using an acute obesity mice model. C57BL/6J male mice were divided into 2 groups; HFD-LL subjected to a high fat diet (HFD) and constant light exposure (LL), and HFDC-LL subjected to a HFD containing immature peel powder of C. tumida (5% w/w) and LL. Dietary ingestion of immature C. tumida peels significantly suppressed body weight gain following decreased epidydimal, perirenal, and subcutaneous fat weights. Blood levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol in the HFDC-LL were significantly lower than those in the HFD-LL group; however, there was no significant difference in food or calorie intake between the 2 groups. These results suggested that immature C. tumida peels have a beneficial effect on the prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome via its biochemical activities of lipid metabolism.