Multifunctional quercetin overcomes rosiglitazone‐associated adiposity and inflammation during adiposity increase

Abstract

Obesity leads to increased risk for metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, including type 2 diabetes (T2D). Currently used effective T2D treatments include rosiglitazone (RZ). Despite effectiveness of RZ in treating T2D, its side effects are of concern and include increased adiposity and subsequent inflammation are recognized as the basis for multiple disorders. We hypothesized that a carefully selected multifunctional natural bioactive compound may counteract RZ's negative effects and also will reduce adiposity associated inflammation. Therefore, we have selected widely available and multifunctional quercetin with promising anti‐adipogenic, anti‐diabetic and anti‐inflammatory bioactivities. Co‐treatment of quercetin with RZ significantly suppressed the RZ‐induced differentiation of 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes into mature adipocytes. Further, quercitin significantly decreased lipid accumulation in mature differentiated adipocytes. Moreover, quercetin significantly reduced the release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (specially monocyte chemoattractantprotein [MCP‐1]) and adipogenic protein markers (specially fatty acid synthetase [FAS]) from differentiating preadipocytes. In summary, quercetin co‐treatment effectively reduces RZ induced adiposity and is thus is an effective anti‐obesity and anti‐inflammatory compound. Research supported by TN AgResearch.