Krill oil and xanthigen separately inhibit high fat diet induced obesity and hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation in mice

• Krill oil suppressed lipid accumulation in liver cells.
• Both KO and xanthigen reduced HFD-induced weight gain and adipose mass.
• KO markedly inhibited HFD-induced hepatic injury and triacylglycerol accumulation.

Krill oil (KO) is rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Previous studies have shown that KO supplementation alleviated hepatic steatosis in rodents. Xanthigen (brown marine algae fucoxanthin + pomegranate seed oil) is an important source of fucoxanthin and punicic acid. Our recent work indicated that xanthigen (Xan) significantly suppressed 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation. Here we investigated the effect of KO and Xan on lipid accumulation in HepG2 liver cancer cells and on high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice. KO potently inhibited triacylglycerol accumulation in Hep G2 cells. Supplementation with 2.5% KO or Xan effectively reduced HFD-induced body weight gain and adipose mass increase without affecting food intake, and improved diet-induced hepatic steatosis. In summary, KO and Xan may act as novel agents for the treatment of diet-induced obesity and steatosis.