Anti-obesity effect of Blumea balsamifera extract in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes.

Obesity, the leading metabolic disease in the world, is a serious health problem in industrialized countries. We investigated the anti-obesity effect of Blumea balsamifera extract on adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and anti-obesity effect of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We found that treatment with an extract of Blumea balsamifera suppressed lipid accumulation and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity without affecting cell viability in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes. Furthermore, Blumea balsamifera extract brought significant attenuation of expressions of key adipogenic transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma, CCAAT element binding protein (C/EBPs) and leptin, however, induced up-regulation of adiponectin at the protein level in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes. These results suggest that Blumea balsamifera extract may block adipogenesis, at least in part, by decreasing key adipogenic transcription factors in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and may have antiatherogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic effects through up-regulation of adiponectin in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.