Bioactive Compounds from Lemon (<i>Citrus limon</i>) Extract Overcome TNF-α-Induced Insulin Resistance in Cultured Adipocytes

Abstract

The consumption of plant-based food is important for health promotion, especially regarding the prevention and management of chronic diseases such as diabetes. We investigated the effects of a lemon extract (LE), containing ≥20.0% total flavanones and ≥1.0% total hydroxycinnamic acids, on insulin signaling in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with TNF-α, which was used to mimic in vitro the insulin resistance condition that characterizes diabetes mellitus. Our results showed LE increased PPARγ, GLUT4 and DGAT-1 levels, demonstrating the potential of this lemon extract in the management of insulin resistance conditions associated with TNF-α pathway activation. LE treatment further decreased the release of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and restored triglyceride synthesis, which is the main feature of a healthy adipocyte.

Keywords

• lemon extract
• adipocytes
• insulin resistance
• polyphenols