Antioxidant and anti-adipogenic activities of water extract (WE) and methanol extract (ME) of acorn shells (AS), from Quercus acutissima Carruth. grown in Korea, were investigated. At a concentration of 50 μg/mL, the WE had a scavenging activity of 53.84% for the DPPH and 76.09% for the ABTS radical, while the ME had corresponding scavenging activities of 29.09 and 48.43%. Total phenolic contents of WE and ME were 375.96 and 288.01 mg gallic acid equivalents/g of extracts, respectively. Both extracts significantly inhibited 3T3-L1 adipogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, and concomitantly decreased the size and number of intracellular lipid droplets. Furthermore, the antiadipogenic activities of WE and ME are largely limited in the pre- and early stages of adipogenesis. The results suggest that AS may be a promising source of antioxidants and anti-obesity compounds.
Keywords: acorn; anti-adipiogenic; antioxidant; shell.