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2026 Vol.38, Issue 3 Preview Page

Research Article

Simultaneous Determination of Marker Compounds and Anti-Adipogenic Effects of Cirsium setidens-Chamaecrista nomame Complex Extract in 3T3-L1 Cells
Young-Jae Heo1
,
Tae-Woong Song1
,
Su-Jong Kim2
,
Jin-Ho Roh3
,
Sun-Il Choi4*
1Graduate Student, Department of Food Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
2Undergraduate Student, Department of Food Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
3CEO, IR H&C Co., Chuncheon 24341, Korea
4Assistant Professor, Department of Food Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 September 2026. pp. 303-319
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Abstract

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder that requires long-term management, for which edible plant resources are regarded as promising candidates. Cirsium setidens Nakai and Chamaecrista nomame (Siebold) H. Ohashi are edible plants native to Korea, and their 50:50 combined extract has been developed as a functional food material. This study established an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of pectolinarin and luteolin, the marker compounds of the two materials, and evaluated the anti-adipogenic activity of the complex extract in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The two markers were baseline-separated at 350 nm within 20 min in a 35-min run, and the method satisfied the ICH acceptance criteria, showing coefficients of determination of 0.9999, limits of detection of 0.23 and 0.03 µg/mL, intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations below 2%, and recoveries of 99.0 to 101.1%. The contents of pectolinarin and luteolin in the complex extract were 9.39 ± 0.25 mg/g and 324.39 ± 7.44 µg/g, respectively. None of the treatments reduced cell viability. The complex extract inhibited lipid accumulation and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing them to 56.37 ± 2.61% and 64.43 ± 0.53% at 200 µg/mL, which was significantly greater than the inhibition produced by either single extract at the same total concentration. Molecular docking predicted binding of both markers to the ligand-binding pocket of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) (-10.6 and -9.1 kcal/mol for pectolinarin and luteolin, respectively), with binding modes characteristic of partial rather than full agonists. These findings indicate that the standardized complex extract suppresses adipogenesis and oxidative stress, supporting its potential as a functional food ingredient for the management of obesity.

Keywords
Adipogenesis
Chamaecrista nomame
Cirsium setidens
Luteolin
Pectolinarin
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Information
  • Publisher :Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Institute, Kangwon National University
  • Publisher(Ko) :None
  • Journal Title :Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
  • Volume : 38
  • No :3
  • Pages :303-319
  • Received Date : 2026-07-31
  • Revised Date : 2026-08-19
  • Accepted Date : 2026-08-19
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.22698/jales.20260021
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