This technology is a pharmaceutical composition for preventing and treating obesity, using extracellular vesicles with an average diameter of 50–300 nm isolated and purified from spinach as the active ingredient. These vesicles are also provided in food compositions, such as beverages and food additives, and as quasi-drug compositions in the form of granules, tablets, and capsules.
Obesity increases the risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance. However, existing anti-obesity drugs targeting appetite regulation mechanisms have been associated with issues like cardiovascular side effects, increased suicide risk, and drug dependency. Due to insufficient efficacy and high resistance, long-term drug therapy has struggled to overcome obesity. While plant-derived extracellular vesicles offer many advantages, their biological functions have not been systematically studied.
This technology uses ultrafiltration and size-exclusion chromatography to purely isolate spinach vesicles. When applied to preadipocytes, these vesicles reduce the expression of C/EBP-α, SREBP1, and PPAR-γ genes, thereby inhibiting adipogenesis, differentiation, and fat accumulation. Encased in a lipid bilayer, these vesicles can reach the large intestine after oral ingestion and can be mass-produced from plants. Applicable to weight management health drinks, obesity improvement supplements for children and adolescents, and oral anti-obesity drugs, this method directly reduces body fat formation at the adipocyte level without the neurological side effects associated with appetite suppressants.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the development of plant extracellular vesicle production processes and engineering platform technologies.
N/A
