Resveratrol Anti-Obesity Effects: Rapid Inhibition of Adipocyte Glucose Utilization

Studies in animal models of diabetes and obesity have shown that resveratrolmitigates complications of metabolic diseases, beyond those resulting from oxidative stress. Furthermore, results obtained with cultured preadipocytes have also revealed that prolonged resveratroltreatment impairs adipogenesis. Considering the role of adipocytesin the hypertrophy of fat stores, and keeping in mind that insulin is the main trigger of excessive energy storage during post-prandialperiods, the present study aimed to investigate how short-term effects of resveratrolcan limit glucose disposal in a gut-adipose tissue axis. We found that resveratrolexhibits a more potent inhibitory capacity towards α-glucosidase than pancreatic lipaseactivity. Resveratrolalso rapidly blunts glucose transport in mature fat cells by counteracting the effect of insulin and insulin-like lipogenic agents. Within two hours, resveratrolalso inhibited the incorporation of glucose into lipids of adipocytes, which was unaffected by membrane cholesterol depletion. Moreover, the comparison between adipocyteswith invalidated semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidaseactivity and their control, or between resveratroland several inhibitors, did not indicate that the recently described interaction of resveratrolwith amine oxidaseswas involved in its antilipogenic effect. Caffeine and piceatannol, previously said to interact with glucose carriers, also inhibit lipogenesisin adipocytes, whereas other antioxidant phytochemicals do not reproduce such an antilipogenic effect. This study highlights the diverse first steps by which resveratrolimpairs excessive fat accumulation, indicating that this natural molecule and its derivatives deserve further studies to develop their potential anti-obesity properties.