Soyasaponin Ab alleviates postmenopausal obesity through browning of white adipose tissue

Abstract

Postmenopausal obesity is becoming a serious global health concern. Soyasaponin Ab (SA) inhibits adipocyte differentiation; however, the preventive and therapeutic potential of SA in postmenopausal obesity has not been clearly established. Here, we investigated the anti-obesity effects of SA in postmenopausal obesity in vitro and in vivo. SA inhibited adipocytic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells and reduced lipid accumulation and lipid droplet formation. Moreover, SA significantly decreased weight gain, adipocyte area, serum metabolic profiles in OVX mice. SA also inhibited the lipid metabolism-related factors but increased the thermoregulatory factors in both in vitro and in vivo. SA treatment further increased energy expenditure through beige fat activation. Overall, we found that SA effectively accelerated energy consumption by stimulating beige fat activation, even under estrogen-deficient conditions. Thus, SA treatment may be a promising strategy for the prevention of postmenopausal obesity by promoting weight loss, reducing fat accumulation, and improving obesity-related metabolic disorders.

Keywords

• Soyasaponin Ab
• Anti-adipogenesis
• 3T3-L1 adipocytes
• Beige fat
• Estrogen deficiency
• Endocannabinoid system