Department of Nutritional Science and Food Management, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 120-750, Korea.
Phytother Res. 2011 Jun;25(6):935-9. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3339. Epub 2010 Nov 17.
Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is a pungent ingredient of red peppers, and has been reported to reduce body weight gain and adiposity in rodents. The present study investigated the effects of capsaicin on lipid catabolism in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Capsaicin decreased the intracellular lipid content in a concentration-dependent manner. The release of glycerol into the medium was increased by the addition of capsaicin. The mRNA levels of genes involved in lipid catabolism such as hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), carnitine palmitoyl transferase-Iα (CPTI-α) and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) were up-regulated significantly. These results suggest that capsaicin exerts its lipolytic action by increasing the hydrolysis of triacylglycerol in adipocytes, and that these effects are mediated at least partially by regulation of the expression of multiple genes that are involved in the lipid catabolic pathway, such as HSL and CPT-Iα, and those involved in thermogenesis such as UCP2.
辣椒素（8-甲基-N-香草基-6-壬酰胺）是红辣椒中的一种辛辣成分，据报道可减少啮齿动物的体重增加和肥胖。本研究探讨了辣椒素对分化的 3T3-L1 脂肪细胞中脂质分解代谢的影响。辣椒素呈浓度依赖性降低细胞内脂质含量。加入辣椒素可增加甘油向培养基中的释放。参与脂质分解代谢的基因，如激素敏感脂肪酶（HSL）、肉毒碱棕榈酰转移酶-Iα（CPTI-α）和解偶联蛋白 2（UCP2）的 mRNA 水平显著上调。这些结果表明，辣椒素通过增加脂肪细胞中三酰甘油的水解来发挥其脂肪分解作用，这些作用至少部分通过调节参与脂质分解代谢途径的多个基因的表达来介导，如 HSL 和 CPT-Iα，以及那些与产热有关的基因，如 UCP2。
