Flavonoids as inducers of white adipose tissue browning and thermogenesis: signalling pathways and molecular triggers
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REVIEW
Open Access
Flavonoids as inducers of white adipose tissue browning and thermogenesis: signalling pathways and molecular triggers Xuejun Zhang1†, Xin Li2†, Huang Fang3, Fengjin Guo3, Feng Li3, Anmin Chen3 and Shilong Huang3*
Abstract Background: Flavonoids are a class of plant and fungus secondary metabolites and are the most common group of polyphenolic compounds in the human diet. In recent studies, flavonoids have been shown to induce browning of white adipocytes, increase energy consumption, inhibit high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and improve metabolic status. Promoting the activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and inducing white adipose tissue (WAT) browning are promising means to increase energy expenditure and improve glucose and lipid metabolism. This review summarizes recent advances in the knowledge of flavonoid compounds and their metabolites. Methods: We searched the following databases for all research related to flavonoids and WAT browning published through March 2019: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Web of Science. All included studies are summarized and listed in Table 1. Result: We summarized the effects of flavonoids on fat metabolism and the specific underlying mechanisms in sub-categories. Flavonoids activated the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), promoted the release of adrenaline and thyroid hormones to increase thermogenesis and induced WAT browning through the AMPK-PGC-1α/Sirt1 and PPAR signalling pathways. Flavonoids may also promote brown preadipocyte differentiation, inhibit apoptosis and produce inflammatory factors in BAT. Conclusion: Flavonoids induced WAT browning and activated BAT to increase energy consumption and nonshivering thermogenesis, thus inhibiting weight gain and preventing metabolic diseases. Keywords: Flavonoids, Brown adipose tissue, Browning, Obesity
Introduction White fat cells are unilocular, and their main function is to store energy in the form of triglycerides. In contrast, brown adipocytes are multilocular, contain substantial numbers of mitochondria and have high expression uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Brown adipose tissue has been found in newborns and is involved in non-shivering thermogenesis. The primary function of brown fat is to transform energy into heat and maintain body temperature. BAT has long been thought to be absent in adult humans until Nedergaard [1] reported the discovery of some BAT in the supraclavicular * Correspondence: [email protected] † Xuejun Zhang and Xin Li contributed equally to this work. 3 Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.1095 Jie Fang Avenue, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
and the neck regions of adult humans. In contrast to the components of classic BAT, Cannon and Nedergaard [2] found another kind of adipocyte in white adipose tissue after chronic treatment with the peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor (PPAR) γ agonist rosiglitazone; these other ad
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