Effect of nutmeg extract on the white adipose tissue (WAT) browning process of aging rats

Abstract

The white adipose tissue (WAT) browning process has become one of the promising methods for managing obesity. During this process, WAT is transformed into brown-like adipose tissue, which is also known as beige adipose tissue. The browning process can be activated by several inducers. One of the best candidates is peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist. Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt) is a natural PPARα/γ partial agonist that is known to contribute to the browning effect. This study aimed to explore the potential effect of nutmeg seed extract (NuSE) on body weight reduction and uncoupling protein (UCP)1, UCP2, UCP3, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 PGC-1α levels in aging rats. Eight male Wistar rats (80 weeks old) were divided into control and treatment groups. Both groups were fed a standard diet, and the treatment group was given 8.1 mg/kg body weight/day of NuSE via oral gavage for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, the levels of UCP1, UCP2, UCP3, and PGC-1α from both inguinal WAT (iWAT) and interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT) were examined. We observed that the administration of NuSE has no significant effect to the decreasement of rats body weights (p = 0.464), levels of UCP1 (p = 0.686), UCP2 (p = 0.360), UCP3 (p = 0.076), and PGC-1α (p = 0.200).