Effects of Citrus aurantium (Bitter Orange) Fruit Extracts and p-Synephrine on Metabolic Fluxes in the Rat Liver.docVIP

Molecules 2012, 17, 5854-5869; doi:10.3390/moleculeOPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 /journal/molecules Article Effects of Citrus aurantium (Bitter Orange) Fruit Extracts and p-Synephrine on Metabolic Fluxes in the Rat Liver Jéssica Sereno Peixoto, Jurandir Fernando Comar, Caroline Tessaro Moreira, Andréia Assun??o Soares, Andrea Luiza de Oliveira, Adelar Bracht * and Rosane Marina Peralta Department of Biochemistry, University of Maringá, Avenida Colombo 5790,Maringá, Brazil; E-Mails: jessica_nutri@ (J.S.P.); jfcomar@uem.br (J.F.C.); ca_tessaro@.br (C.T.M.); andasoares7@ (A.A.S.); andreabiomed@ (A.L.O.); rmperalta@uem.br (R.M.P.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: adebracht@.br; Tel.: +55-44-3011-4956; Fax: +55-44-3011-4896. Received: 21 March 2012; in revised form: 7 May 2012 / Accepted: 12 May 2012 / Published: 16 May 2012 Abstract: The fruit extracts of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) are traditionally used as weight-loss products and as appetite supressants. An important fruit component is p-synephrine, which is structurally similar to the adrenergic agents. Weight-loss and adrenergic actions are always related to metabolic changes and this work was designed to investigate a possible action of the C. aurantium extract on liver metabolism. The isolated perfused rat liver was used to measure catabolic and anabolic pathways, including oxygen uptake and perfusion pressure. The C. aurantium extract and p-synephrine increased glycogenolysis, glycolysis, oxygen uptake and perfusion pressure. These changes were partly sensitive to ?- and ?-adrenergic antagonists. p-Synephrine (200 ?M) produced an increase in glucose output that was only 15% smaller than the increment caused by the extract containing 196 ?M p-synephrine. At low concentrations the C. aurantium extract tended to increase gluconeogenesis, but at high concentrations it