Anti-obesity effect of Allomyrina dichotoma ( Arthropoda: Insecta) larvae ethanol extract on 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation.

Although Korean horn beetle ( Allomyrina dichotoma) larvae have been long used as an oriental medicine for the treatment of liver diseases in Korea, there is little scientific evidence of their effects. In this study, we investigated the anti-obesity activity of A. dichotoma larvae extract ( ADE) by using 3 T3- L1 cells as an in vitro model of adipogenesis. To analyze its role as an inhibitor of adipogenesis, 3 T3- L1 cells were treated with both ADE and differentiation inducer ( DM) at the same time, and then the amount of lipid was quantified. We then analyzed the mRNA and protein expression level of adipogenic or lipogenic genes. The results showed that formation of lipid droplets in differentiated 3 T3- L1 cells was markedly decreased, and triglyceride content was reduced by 22.15% in response to 2000 μg/mL ADE. In addition, ADE downregulated mRNA and protein expression of transcription factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ( PPAR)-γ and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein ( C/EBP)-α implicated in adipogenesis, and significantly decreased the expression levels of adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (a P2), fatty acid synthase ( FAS), stearoyl-coenzyme desaturase-1 ( SCD1), and lipoprotein lipase ( LPL) related to lipogenesis. Our results demonstrate that ADE suppressed adipogenesis and lipogenesis in 3 T3- L1 cells, suggesting that ADE has anti-obesity activity as a food supplement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]