Abstract
Scope:
Obesity is a major public health and economic problem of global significance. Here, we investigated the role of diosmetin, a natural flavonoid presents mainly in citrus fruits, in the regulation of obesity and metabolic dysfunctions in mice.
Methods and results:
Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or five-week-old male ob/ob mice fed a normal diet were treated with diosmetin (50 mg kg-1 daily) or vehicle for 8 weeks. Diosmetin treatment decreased body weight and fat mass, improved glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in obese mice. These metabolic benefits were mainly attributed to increased energy expenditure via enhancing thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and browning of white adipose tissue (WAT). Mechanistically, diosmetin acted as an agonist for estrogen receptors (ERs), and subsequently elevated adipose expressions of ERs in mice and in cultured adipocytes. When ERs were blocked by their antagonist fulvestrant in mice, diosmetin loses its beneficial effects on activation of BAT, browning of WAT, body weight control and glucose homeostasis, suggesting that ERs are indispensable for the metabolic benefits of diosmetin.
Conclusion:
The results indicate that diosmetin might be a potential anti-obesity nutritional supplement and could be explored for low ERs-related obesity populations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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