The Anti-Obesity Effects of Lemon Fermented Products in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes and in a Rat Model with High-Calorie Diet-Induced Obesity

• Main Authors: Chih-Chung Wu, Yu-Wen Huang, Chih-Yao Hou, Ya-Ting Chen, Cheng-Di Dong, Chiu-Wen Chen, Reeta-Rani Singhania, Jie-Yin Leang, Shu-Ling Hsieh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: lemon fermented products; adipocytes; prevent obesity; 3T3-L1; lipid metabolism
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/8/2809

Lemon (<i>Citrus limon</i>) has antioxidant, immunoregulatory, and blood lipid-lowering properties. This study aimed to determine the effect of the lemon fermented product (LFP) which is lemon fermented with <i>Lactobacillus</i> OPC1 to prevent obesity. The inhibition of lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes is examined using a Wistar rat model fed a high-fat diet to verify the anti-obesity efficacy and mechanism of LFP. Here, it was observed that LFP reduced cell proliferation and inhibited the lipid accumulation (8.3%) of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Additionally, LFP reduced body weight (9.7%) and fat tissue weight (25.7%) of rats; reduced serum TG (17.0%), FFA (17.9%), glucose (29.3%) and ketone body (6.8%); and increased serum HDL-C (17.6%) and lipase activity (17.8%). LFP regulated the mRNA expression of genes related to lipid metabolism (PPARγ, C/EBPα, SREBP-1c, HSL, ATGL, FAS, and AMPK). Therefore, LFP reduces body weight and lipid accumulation by regulating the mRNA expression of genes related to lipid metabolism. Overall, our results implicate LFP as a potential dietary supplement for the prevention of obesity.