title: Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis L. Voigt) root suppresses adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis L. Voigt) is a tropical plant widely distributed throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The anti-obesity property of this plant has been claimed but still remains to be scientifically proven. We therefore investigated the effects of ivy gourd leaf, stem, and root on adipocyte differentiation by employing cell culture model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dried roots, stems, and leaves of ivy gourd were separately extracted with ethanol. Each extract was then applied to 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes upon induction with a mixture of insulin, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, and dexamethasone, for anti-adipogenesis assay. The active extract was further fractionated by a sequential solvent partitioning method, and the resulting fractions were examined for their abilities to inhibit adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. Differences in the expression of adipogenesis-related genes between the treated and untreated cells were determined from their mRNA and protein levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the three ivy gourd extracts, the root extract exhibited an anti-adipogenic effect. It significantly reduced intracellular fat accumulation during the early stages of adipocyte differentiation. Together with the suppression of differentiation, expression of the genes encoding PPARγ, C/EBPα, adiponectin, and GLUT4 were down-regulated. Hexane-soluble fraction of the root extract also inhibited adipocyte differentiation and decreased the mRNA levels of various adipogenic genes in the differentiating cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to demonstrate that ivy gourd root may prevent obesity based mainly on the ability of its active constituent(s) to suppress adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Such an inhibitory effect is mediated by at least down-regulating the expression of PPARγ-the key transcription factor of adipogenesis in pre-adipocytes during their early differentiation processes.
authors.forename: Ruthaiwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bunkrongcheap
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai 90110, Thailand. nongporn.t@psu.ac.th.
authors.forename: Nongporn
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hutadilok-Towatana
authors.forename: Kusumarn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noipha
authors.forename: Chatchai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wattanapiromsakul
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inafuku
authors.forename: Hirosuke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oku
mesh_terms: D041721:3T3-L1 Cells; D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D019662:Cucurbitaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts