Bacaba phenolic extract attenuates adipogenesis by down-regulating PPARγ and C/EBPα in 3T3-L1 cells

Bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) is a native Brazilian palm fruit with a high amount of polyphenolics, reported to have an apoptotic effect on cancer cells [1]. Here, we examined the effect of Bacaba phenolic extract (BPE) on adipogenesis using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Proliferating and differentiating adipocytes were incubated with BPE at 6, 12, and 24 μg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/ml. BPE reduced accumulation of intracellular lipids and protein expression of adipogenic markers including PPARγ, C/EBPα, FABP4, IR-β, and adiponectin in a dose-dependent manner during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells into adipocytes. Furthermore, lipid accumulation decreased with BPE (24 μg of GAE/ml) during the early stage of mitotic clonal expansion (Days 0-2). In contrast, the inhibition of protein expression of adipogenic markers needed a longer duration (Days 0-4, 0-7, 2-7) of BPE incubation. These results suggest that BPE inhibits adipogenisis in vitro via targeting transcriptional factors during the early and middle stages of differentiation.