The Effect of Cinnamon on Adipogenesis

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity results from interaction of genetic susceptibility of an individual with environmental and behavioral factors such as diet, supplements, and lifestyle. Management options of obesity are in it’s infancy stage. However there is an urgent need for developing drugs with minimal side effects. Amongst the supplements cinnamon has been gaining popularity as an adjunct for management of obesity. Cinnamon has been studied in diabetic patients and has been shown to demonstrate beneficial effects by reducing LDL and increasing HDL. There are some rudimentary animal studies suggesting a beneficial effect of cinnamon aldehyhe (CA). However the pathophysiology of CA on adipocytes and adipocyte homeostasis is not well studied in United States. Methods: In vitro study was performed on mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes, purchased from ZebBioTM. Cells were then passaged as pre-confluent cultures in DMEM high glucose with 10% newborn calf serum at 37 degrees and 10% CO2. Once cells were confluent they were differentiated in high DMEM high glucose with 10% fetal bovine serum. Further differentiation was done according to protocol. Western blot analysis was performed with proteases to get protein lysates and transferred to electrophoretic gels. It was then transferred to nitrocellulose membrane which was blocked with appropriately according to protocol. To understand the underlying mechanism of CA on adipocytes it was added to adipocytes on day 2, 4, and 8. Transcriptional factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), adiponectin, and TNF-α were measured. It was compared with control to which no CA was added. Results: Using FluoroChem M TM (protein simple) imaging system digital chemiluminescence images were captured and western blot processed. Subsequently data was analyzed using Alpha view soft ware. PPAR gamma was significantly increased several 1,000-fold on day 2, 4, and 8. It was most marked on day 2. TNF-α, a marker of inflammation in obesity was decreased. However adiponectin for unclear reason was decreased. Conclusion: The results definitely suggest Cinnamon to have a beneficial effect on adipocytes with PPAR gamma increasing and TNF-α decreasing. Effect on adiponectin is not as clear.and we intend to repeat it. However having this important effect on PPAR gamma which is an important therapeutic target if of great interest. We further intend to study on human adipocytes as well other markers of adipogenesis and the genes involved like.SIRT1, SREBP, FOXO1.Figure 1: Effect of cinnamon on PPAR gamma.