Nutrition and Obesity Group, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Lucio Lascaray Research Institute, 01006 Vitoria, Spain.
CIBEROBN Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, Institute of Health Carlos III, 01006 Vitoria, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Dec 19;21(1):41. doi: 10.3390/ijms21010041.
In recent years, microalgae have attracted great interest for their potential applications in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry as an interesting source of bioactive medicinal products and food ingredients with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties. One potential application for bioactive microalgae compounds is obesity treatment. This review gathers together in vitro and in vivo studies which address the anti-obesity effects of microalgae extracts. The scientific literature supplies evidence supporting an anti-obesity effect of several microalgae: , , , , or . Regarding the mechanisms of action, microalgae can inhibit pre-adipocyte differentiation and reduce de novo lipogenesis and triglyceride (TG) assembly, thus limiting TG accumulation. Increased lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation can also be observed. Finally, microalgae can induce increased energy expenditure via thermogenesis activation in brown adipose tissue, and browning in white adipose tissue. Along with the reduction in body fat accumulation, other hallmarks of individuals with obesity, such as enhanced plasma lipid levels, insulin resistance, diabetes, or systemic low-grade inflammation are also improved by microalgae treatment. Not only the anti-obesity effect of microalgae but also the improvement of several comorbidities, previously observed in preclinical studies, has been confirmed in clinical trials.
近年来，微藻因其作为具有抗氧化、抗炎、抗癌和抗菌特性的生物活性药物和食品成分的有趣来源，在营养保健品和制药行业中引起了极大的兴趣。生物活性微藻化合物的一个潜在应用是肥胖治疗。本综述汇集了关于微藻提取物的抗肥胖作用的体外和体内研究。科学文献提供了支持几种微藻具有抗肥胖作用的证据： 、 、 、 或 。关于作用机制，微藻可以抑制前脂肪细胞分化，减少从头脂肪生成和甘油三酯（TG）组装，从而限制 TG 积累。还可以观察到脂肪分解和脂肪酸氧化增加。最后，微藻可以通过激活棕色脂肪组织中的产热和白色脂肪组织中的褐变来诱导增加的能量消耗。除了减少体脂肪积累外，微藻处理还改善了肥胖个体的其他特征，如血浆脂质水平升高、胰岛素抵抗、糖尿病或全身低度炎症。不仅微藻的抗肥胖作用，而且在临床研究中也证实了先前在临床前研究中观察到的几种合并症的改善。
