The treatment with an extract from Calafate (Berberis microphylla) induces transcript and protein expression of molecules involved in thermogenesis and adipocyte browning in adipose tissue from obese mice
Affiliations: Departamento de Nutricion, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Diego F. Garcia-Diaz, PhD, Departamento de Nutricion, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile. Tel.: +56 229786759; E-mails: [email protected] and [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Polyphenols intake increases the function of brown adipose tissue (BAT), stimulating energy expenditure (EE). Calafate (Berberis microphylla) is a polyphenol-rich Chilean native fruit. OBJECTIVE:To analyse the effect of a treatment with a Calafate extract in the thermogenic activity of mice adipose tissues. METHODS:Forty adult C57BL/6J male mice were subdivided into four groups (n=10 each): control diet, control+Calafate (extract: 50mg total polyphenols/kg weight), high-fat diet (HF) and HF+Calafate. RESULTS:Calafate prevented the increase in body weight and the decrease EE induced by HF. In BAT, Ucp-1 transcript was influenced by the interaction between diet and Calafate (p<0.01), Pparα showed the same expression pattern as Ucp-1 and both, diet (p<0.01) and Calafate (p<0.05), induced significant effects in Sirt1. In inguinal adipose tissue, Pgc1α, Pparα, Prdm16, Sirt1, and Dio2 transcripts presented a decreased expression caused by HF, that was reversed by Calafate. In BAT, an effect of diet (p<0.05) and an interaction between diet and Calafate (p<0.01) was observed in UCP-1 protein levels. CONCLUSIONS:A treatment with Calafate drives less weight gain in mice fed with HF, and reverses the effects generated by it on the expression of thermogenic and browning markers.
Keywords: Calafate, polyphenols, brown adipose tissue, thermogenesis, browning
