Ali Heidari - Dept. of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Gholamhosein Meftahi - Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Farideh Bahrami - Dept. of Physiology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences,Tehran,Iran
Zahra Bahari - Dept. of Physiology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences,Tehran,Iran
Ali Zarei Mahmoudabadi - Dept. of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hasan Fallah Huseini - Medicinal Plants Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plants, ACECR, Karaj, Iran
Zohreh Jangravi - Dept. of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Background and Objective: Obesity is a major public health problem whose prevalence has constantly increased worldwide. Obesity is a risk factor for several diseases such as type ۲ diabetes, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, all of which reduce the quality of life and life expectancy. This study investigated anti-adipogenic effects of Eryngium billardierei (Ery) extract. Materials and Methods: The nontoxic concentration of Ery extract was estimated via the ۳-(۴,۵-dimethylthiazol-۲-yl)-۲,۵-diphenyl-۲H-tetrazoliu bromide (MTT) assay. The differentiation of mouse-derived ۳T۳-L۱ preadipocytes into mature adipocytes was induced in the presence or absence of Ery extract. Then, the accumulation of lipid droplets was identified by Oil Red O staining. Triacylglycerol level and glycerol-۳phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity were also measured. Results: The MTT assay showed that ۳ mg/mL of the Ery extract can be a nontoxic dose for other analyses. Oil Red O staining demonstrated a reduction of lipid droplets in the extract-treated adipocyte ۳T۳-L۱ compared to the non-treated group. A significant decrease of triacylglycerol level in the treated ۳T۳-L۱ adipocyte (۰.۳۲±۰.۰۳ mgTG/mg protein) compared with the nontreated group (۰.۷۸±۰.۰۵ mgTG/mg protein) (P<۰.۰۱), and a significant decrease of glycerol-۳-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity in the ۳T۳-L۱adipocyte treated (۱۵.۳±۲.۱ U/ml) compared to the non-treated group (۳۰.۲±۳.۹ U/ml) (P<۰.۰۵) confirmed the inhibitory action of Ery extract on adipocyte differentiation. Conclusion: Ery extract, as a safe herbal extract, has anti-adipogenic activity and merits more investigation as a candidate for developing an anti-obesity drug or supplement.

Adipocyte differentiation, Eryngium billardierei, GPDH activity, ۳T۳-L۱ cell line