The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-obesity effect of flavonoid eriodictyol (ED) supplementation in mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). C57BL/6N mice were fed with normal diet (ND), HFD (40 kcal% fat), or HFD + 0.005% (w/w) ED for 16 weeks. In HFD-induced obese mice, dietary ED supplementation significantly alleviated dyslipidemia and adiposity by downregulating the expression of lipogenesis-related genes in white adipose tissue (WAT), while enhancing fecal lipid excretion. ED additionally improved hepatic steatosis and decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by downregulating the expression of hepatic enzymes and the genes involved in lipogenesis and upregulating the expression of hepatic fatty acid oxidation-related enzymes and genes. In addition, ED improved insulin resistance (IR) by suppressing hepatic gluconeogenesis, enhancing glucose utilization, and modulating the production and release of two incretin hormones, namely gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Taken together, the current findings indicated that ED can protect against diet-induced obesity and related metabolic disturbances, including dyslipidemia, inflammation, fatty liver disease, and IR in diet-induced obese mice.
Keywords: adiposity; eriodictyol; hepatic steatosis; inflammation; insulin resistance; obesity.