title: Royal jelly ameliorates diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance by promoting brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in mice.
abstract: Identification of thermogenic food ingredients is potentially a useful strategy for the prevention of obesity and related metabolic disorders. It has been reported that royal jelly (RJ) supplementation improves insulin sensitivity; however, its impacts on energy expenditure and adiposity remain elusive. We investigated anti-obesity effects of RJ supplementation and their relation to physical activity levels and thermogenic capacities of brown (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT).
  
  
  
  C57BL/6J mice were fed under four different experimental conditions for 17 weeks: normal diet (ND), high fat diet (HFD), HFD with 5% RJ, and HFD with 5% honey bee larva powder (BL). Spontaneous locomotor activity, hepatic triglyceride (TG) content, and blood parameters were examined. Gene and protein expressions of thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV (COX-IV) in BAT and WAT were investigated by qPCR and Western blotting analysis, respectively.
  
  
  
  Dietary RJ, but not BL, suppressed HFD-induced accumulations of WAT and hepatic TG without modifying food intake. Consistently, RJ improved hyperglycemia and the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Although dietary RJ and BL unchanged locomotor activity, gene and protein expressions of UCP1 and COX-IV in BAT were increased in the RJ group compared to the other experimental groups. Neither the RJ nor BL treatment induced browning of WAT.
  
  
  
  Our results indicate that dietary RJ ameliorates diet-induced obesity, hyperglycemia, and hepatic steatosis by promoting metabolic thermogenesis in BAT in mice. RJ may be a novel promising food ingredient to combat obesity and metabolic disorders.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoneshiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaede
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagaya
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Mana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamatsu-Ogura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan; School of Biological Sciences, Tokai University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 005-8601, Japan. Electronic address: terao@tsc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Terao
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D000099219:Royal Jelly
keywords: Brown adipose tissue; Diabetes mellitus; Hepatic steatosis; Obesity; Royal jelly