Anti-obesity effect of seaweed algae (Ascophyllum nodosum) extracts in the 3T3-L1 cell line and a high-fat diet-induced obesity rat model

Abstract

Obesity can be induced by the accumulation of adipose tissue via overconsumption of high-energy intake, and unbalanced synthesis of various hormones. Recently, seaweed algae have attracted researchers’ attention due to their health-beneficial effects, however, the antiobesity effects of Ascophyllum nososum are still controversial. We conducted two experiments with 3T3-L1 cell line and obese mouse model to elucidate the exact mechanism of seaweed algae extract (AE).In the in vivo study, dietary AE supplementation decreased body weight without affecting feed consumption. AE reduced the total mass, fat mass, and gonadal fat of the mice without changing the lean mass weight. Additionally, dietary AE addition could restore serum markers related to lipid metabolism (triglycerides and total cholesterol) as much as those of control mice.Furthermore, the in vitro study with 3T3-L1 cells suggested that AE treatment significantly suppressed adipogenesis by decreasing expression levels of lipogenesis-related genes and lipid-utilization genes with increasing the ratio of phosphorylated AMPK to AMPK and phosphorylated ACC to ACC.Collectively, Ascophyllum nodosum extract could restore obesity induced by a high-fat diet, which might be due to the decrease in lipogenesis with the increase in lipid utilization through the AMPK-ACC signaling pathway.