Differential Tissue-specific and Pathway-specific Anti-obesity Effects of Green Tea and Taeumjowitang, a Traditional Korean Medicine, in Mice

BACKGROUND Traditional medicines have been leveraged for the treatment and prevention of obesity, one of the fastest growing diseases in the world. However, the exact mechanisms underlying the effects of traditional medicine on obesity are not yet fully understood. METHODS We produced the transcriptomes of epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), liver, muscle, and hypothalamus harvested from mice fed a normal diet, high-fat-diet alone, high-fat-diet together with green tea, or a high-fat-diet together with Taeumjowitang, a traditional Korean medicine. RESULTS We found tissue-specific gene expression patterns as follows: (i) the eWAT transcriptome was more significantly altered by Taeumjowitang than by green tea, (ii) the liver transcriptome was similarly altered by Taeumjowitang and green tea, and (iii) both the muscle and hypothalamus transcriptomes were more significantly altered by green tea than Taeumjowitang. We then applied integrated network analyses, which revealed that functional networks associated with lymphocyte activation were more effectively regulated by Taeumjowitang than by green tea in the eWAT. In contrast, green tea was a more effective regulator of functional networks associated with glucose metabolic processes in the eWAT. CONCLUSIONS Taeumjowitang and green tea have a differential tissue-specific and pathway-specific therapeutic effect on obesity.