{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T20:40:31Z","timestamp":1790196031086,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760054400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Department of Forest Sciences of the National Institute of Forest Science","award":["FG0403-2023-02-2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FG0403-2023-02-2025"]}]},{"name":"Department of Forest Sciences of the National Institute of Forest Science","award":["FP0400-2022-01-2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FP0400-2022-01-2025"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Obesity, characterized by the accumulation of excess adipocytes, is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Medicinal plants, including Hibiscus sabdariffa, have been traditionally employed to prevent or treat conditions such as obesity and inflammation due to their safety profile and minimal side effects during long-term use. However, the anti-obesity potential of Hibiscus syriacus, a taxonomically distinct species within the same genus, remains unexplored. In this study, we screened 181 varieties of H. syriacus buds for anti-obesity effects and identified the water extract of the \u2018Pyeonghwa\u2019 bud (HPWE) as a potent inhibitor of adipogenesis. Using 3T3-L1 murine pre-adipocyte cells, we demonstrated that HPWE significantly reduced lipid accumulation without inducing cytotoxicity. Mechanistically, HPWE downregulated the expression of key adipogenic signaling proteins and transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR\u03b3) and CCAAT\/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C\/EBP\u03b1), which serve as molecular markers of adipogenesis. Additionally, in vivo experiments employing a high-fat-diet-induced obesity mouse model using C57BL\/6 species confirmed the anti-obesity effects of HPWE. Collectively, these findings suggest that HPWE represents a promising candidate for the prevention of obesity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26209870","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T14:50:16Z","timestamp":1760107816000},"page":"9870","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Hibiscus syriacus Bud \u2018Pyeonghwa\u2019 Water Extract Inhibits Adipocyte Differentiation and Mitigates High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obesity In Vivo"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8886-1133","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shin-Hye","family":"Kim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Jinju 52817, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hye-Lim","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Jinju 52817, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-4043-0082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tae Hyun","family":"Son","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Jinju 52817, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dongsoo","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Jinju 52817, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hae-Yun","family":"Kwon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forest Bio-Resources, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanna","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forest Bio-Resources, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunmi","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Planning and Coordination Division, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Seoul 02455, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1726-2536","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sik-Won","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Biomaterials Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Jinju 52817, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2024, August 08). 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