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Molecules
2025 Jun 10;3012:. doi: 10.3390/molecules30122537.
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C-Phycocyanin Extract Modulates Thermogenic and Inflammatory Markers in Brown Adipose Tissue of High-Fat Diet-Fed Animals.
Silva-Neto AF
,
Rocha JF
,
Lima GO
,
Oguma JM
,
Pucci VCGS
,
Ferreira YAM
,
Alonso-Vale MI
,
Oller do Nascimento CM
,
Telles MM
,
Braga ARC
,
Caperuto LC
,
Oyama LM
.
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C-phycocyanin (CPC), a bioactive compound derived from Spirulina, has been described as a molecule with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It has also been demonstrated that sustainably obtained CPC effectively inhibited body mass gain, regulated serum leptin and resistin levels, and prevented the onset of a pro-inflammatory state in Swiss mice fed a hyperlipidic diet. These results highlighted the anti-obesogenic potential of CPC. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been identified as a promising target in the treatment of obesity, playing a role in energy expenditure. In this study, Swiss mice fed a high-fat diet were supplemented with 500 mg/kg body weight of CPC daily for 12 and 16 weeks. BAT was collected, and Western blot and ELISA were performed. A reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as a decrease in leptin levels was observed in the tissue, which was also associated with a reduction in BAT relative weight to body mass. Furthermore, CPC administration was able to modulate uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) levels, which is crucial in the thermogenesis process. Therefore, this study demonstrated that supplementation with CPC reduces inflammatory cytokines associated with detrimental effects in the BAT, emerging as a tool in combating obesity and improving BAT function.
Figure 1. Cytokine concentration in brown adipose tissue, in picogram of cytokine per mg of protein, and brown adipose tissue relative weight. Comparison between HFD and CPC groups. Figures (A–F) represent the 12-week treatment (n = 5 in the HFD group and n = 6 in the CPC group), while (G–L) represent the 16-week treatment (n = 6 both groups). (A,G): TNF-α; (B,H): IL-6; (C,I): IL-10; (D,J): TNF-α/IL-10 ratio; (E,K): MCP-1; (F,L): BAT relative weight. * different from the HFD group (p< 0.05). The bar on the graph represents the standard error of the mean.
Figure 2. Concentration of adipokines leptin and resistin in brown adipose tissue, in picograms per milligram of protein. Comparison between the HFD and CPC groups. (A,B): Leptin and resistin at 12-week treatment (n = 5 in the HFD group and n = 6 in the CPC group), respectively; (C,D): Leptin and resistin at 16-week treatment (n = 6 both groups), respectively. Figures (E–L) represent the intensity of each protein band analysed in brown adipose tissue and the respective housekeeping (alpha tubulin) at 12 and 16-week treatment. Figure (E) at H: UCP-1, PGC-1α, STAT3 and PPARγ at 12-week treatment (n = 5–6 in HFD and CPC group), respectively, while figure (I) at L represents the same proteins at 16-week of treatment (n = 4–6 in HFD and CPC group). * different from the HFD group (p < 0.05). The bar on the graph represents the standard error of the mean. Note: The UCP-1 band shown in Figure (E) was cropped due to the presence of additional samples on the Western blot gel that were not included in this study.
