Bioactive Phytochemicals from Twigs: Anti-Adipogenic Effect of 2'--Acetylsalicortin in 3T3-L1 Cells.

(Salicaceae) is a willow tree and has been used as a medicinal herb in Korea to treat pain and fever. As a part of an ongoing study to identify bioactive natural products, potential anti-adipogenic compounds were investigated using the ethanol (EtOH) extract of twigs. Phytochemical investigation of the EtOH extracts using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) led to the separation of two compounds, oregonin () and 2'--acetylsalicortin (). The structures of the isolates were identified using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and LC/MS analysis. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report identifying oregonin () in twigs of . Here, we found that the isolated compounds, oregonin () and 2'--acetylsalicortin (), showed anti-adipogenic effects during 3T3-L1 cell differentiation. Notably, 2'--acetylsalicortin (), at a concentration of 50 µM, significantly suppressed lipid accumulation. Moreover, the mRNA and protein levels of lipogenic and adipogenic transcription factors were reduced in 2'--acetylsalicortin ()-treated 3T3-L1 cells. Taken together, these results indicate that 2'--acetylsalicortin (), isolated from twigs, has the potential to be applied as a therapeutic agent to effectively control adipocyte differentiation, a critical stage in the progression of obesity.