Background: Myricetin is a naturally occurring antioxidant commonly found in various plants. However, little information is available with respect to its direct anti-obesity effects.
Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of myricetin on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice.
Results: Administration of myricetin dramatically reduced the body weight of diet-induced obese mice compared with solely HFD-induced mice. Several parameters related to obesity including serum glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol were significantly decreased in myricetin-treated mice. Moreover, obesity-associated oxidative stress (glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) and inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) were ameliorated in myricetin-treated mice. Further investigation revealed that the protective effect of myricetin against HFD-induced obesity in mice appeared to be partially mediated through the down-regulation of mRNA expression of adipogenic transcription factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), and lipogenic transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c).
Conclusions: Consumption of myricetin may help to prevent obesity and obesity-related metabolic complications.
Keywords: Adipogenesis; Myricetin; Obesity; Oxidative stress.