Jiménez-Ortega Elena, Braza-Boïls Aitana, Burgos Miguel, Moratalla-López Natalia, Vicente Manuel, Alonso Gonzalo L, Nava Eduardo, Llorens Sílvia
Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology, Institute of Physical-Chemistry Rocasolano, CSIC, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Unidad de Cardiopatías Familiares, Muerte Súbita y Mecanismos de Enfermedad (CaFaMuSMe), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain.
Foods. 2020 Nov 12;9(11):1648. doi: 10.3390/foods9111648.
Saffron, as a food colorant, has been displaced by low-cost synthetic dyes. These have unhealthy properties; thus, their replacement with natural food colorants is an emerging trend. Obesity is a worldwide health problem due to its associated comorbidities. Crocetin esters (crocins) are responsible for the red saffron color. Crocetin (CCT) exhibits healthful properties. We aimed to broaden the existing knowledge on the health properties of CCT isolated from saffron, to facilitate its consideration as a healthy natural food colorant in the future. We evaluated the ability of CCT (1 and 5 μM) to reduce lipid accumulation during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Intracellular fat was quantified by Oil Red O staining. CTT cytotoxicity was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The number and size of lipid droplets were analyzed using WimLipid software. The expression of adipogenic genes (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, C/EBPα), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)) was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CCT 5 μM decreased intracellular fat by 22.6%, without affecting viability or lipid droplet generation, via a decrease in C/EBPα expression, implicated in lipid accumulation. Thus, CCT is a potential candidate to be included in dietary therapies aimed at reversing adipose tissue accumulation in obesity.
藏红花作为一种食用色素,已被低成本的合成染料所取代。这些合成染料具有不健康的特性;因此,用天然食用色素取代它们是一种新兴趋势。肥胖是一个全球性的健康问题,因为它伴有多种合并症。藏红花素酯(藏红花苷)赋予藏红花红色。藏红花酸(CCT)具有有益健康的特性。我们旨在拓宽对从藏红花中分离出的CCT健康特性的现有认识,以便将来将其视为一种健康的天然食用色素。我们评估了CCT(1和5μM)在3T3-L1前脂肪细胞分化过程中减少脂质积累的能力。通过油红O染色对细胞内脂肪进行定量。使用3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐(MTT)法测定CTT细胞毒性。使用WimLipid软件分析脂滴的数量和大小。使用定量实时PCR(qRT-PCR)分析脂肪生成基因(CCAAT/增强子结合蛋白(C/EBPβ、C/EBPδ、C/EBPα)和过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ(PPARγ))的表达。5μM的CCT通过降低与脂质积累相关的C/EBPα表达,使细胞内脂肪减少了22.6%,而不影响细胞活力或脂滴生成。因此,CCT是一种潜在的候选物质,可纳入旨在逆转肥胖症中脂肪组织积累的饮食疗法。