Wang_2025_Int.J.Biol.Macromol__145586

Pancreatic lipase (PL) is an essential metabolic key enzyme involved in triglyceride metabolism, hydrolysis and absorption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of total flavonoids from Cortex Juglandis Mandshuricae (TFC) on PL, alleviate lipid accumulation, and their possible interaction mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that TFC had a significant inhibitory effect on PL. The interaction of TFC-PL complexes proceeded spontaneously, where the hydrophobic interactions was the main factor in the action. TFC induced static quenching of PL fluorescence and could alter the secondary structure of PL. In vivo, TFC significantly inhibited the lipid absorption (P < 0.05) and promoted the excretion (P < 0.05) in orally-administered lipid-containing rats. In addition, administration of TFC ameliorated liver and adipose tissue damage and inhibited lipid uptake in mice fed high-fat diets. More importantly, TFC significantly reduced the expression of PL and genes related to pancreatic lipase in pancreatic tissues (P < 0.05). The study suggests that the lipid-lowering effect of TFC may be through reducing PL activity and thereby inhibiting lipid uptake.