Peumus boldus Extract Inhibits Lipid Accumulation in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Abstract

Obesity is a metabolic condition of epidemic scale. Previously, we showedthat antioxidant extracts from Ribes nigrum had antioxidant and anti-adipogenic effectsin mature adipocytes (AD). Here, we evaluated an aqueous extract from Peumus boldus(Boldo) in AD and studied its effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid production.We analyzed the antioxidant activity (AA) of the Boldo extract using the DPPH techniqueand polyphenol (Pph) content via Folin’s reagent. In AD, we evaluated ROS production,catalase (CAT) activity, intracellular triglyceride (Tg) and cholesterol (Chol) contents, nitricoxide (NO) production via Griess reagent, and the levels of glycerol (Gly) and TNF-αreleased in the culture medium. We showed that the Boldo extract has high AA. In vitro,Boldo treatment decreased ROS intracellular production and CAT activity. In addition, theBoldo extract was effective in reducing Tg and Chol levels and NO production. We didnot identify significant differences in Gly released or TNF-α secreted. We suggest that theBoldo extract has antioxidant and anti-adipogenic effects, but we did not observe lipolyticeffects. Boldo did not modify inflammatory markers.