Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis L. Voigt) root suppresses adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells

Abstract

BackgroundIvy gourd (Coccinia grandis L. Voigt) is a tropical plant widely distributed throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The anti-obesity property of this plant has been claimed but still remains to be scientifically proven. We therefore investigated the effects of ivy gourd leaf, stem, and root on adipocyte differentiation by employing cell culture model.MethodsDried roots, stems, and leaves of ivy gourd were separately extracted with ethanol. Each extract was then applied to 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes upon induction with a mixture of insulin, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, and dexamethasone, for anti-adipogenesis assay. The active extract was further fractionated by a sequential solvent partitioning method, and the resulting fractions were examined for their abilities to inhibit adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. Differences in the expression of adipogenesis-related genes between the treated and untreated cells were determined from their mRNA and protein levels.ResultsOf the three ivy gourd extracts, the root extract exhibited an anti-adipogenic effect. It significantly reduced intracellular fat accumulation during the early stages of adipocyte differentiation. Together with the suppression of differentiation, expression of the genes encoding PPARγ, C/EBPα, adiponectin, and GLUT4 were down-regulated. Hexane-soluble fraction of the root extract also inhibited adipocyte differentiation and decreased the mRNA levels of various adipogenic genes in the differentiating cells.ConclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate that ivy gourd root may prevent obesity based mainly on the ability of its active constituent(s) to suppress adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Such an inhibitory effect is mediated by at least down-regulating the expression of PPARγ-the key transcription factor of adipogenesis in pre-adipocytes during their early differentiation processes.

Biomolecular Characterization of Putative Antidiabetic Herbal Extracts

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Effect of germinated brown rice extracts on pancreatic lipase, adipogenesis and lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

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Impacts of Camellia kucha and its main chemical components on the lipid accumulation in 3T3‐L1 adipocytes

“…It also regulates the expression of ACC which provides the malonyl-CoA substrate for biosynthesis of fatty acids (Tong, 2005). In addition, decreased mRNA level of LPL which hydrolyses triglycerides in lipoprotein particles to provide free fatty acids for intracellular triglycerides synthesis would further cause reduction in the lipid synthesis and storage of these cells (Bunkrongcheap et al, 2014). Therefore, the overall anti-adipogenic effect of KT in the 3T3-L1 cells seems to be primarily due to downregulation of the expression of transcription factors such as PPAR c, CEBP a and SREBP-1c, thereafter downregulation of the adipocyte-specific transcription levels during adipocyte differentiation.…”