Effects and mechanisms of a concentrated goyasaponin fraction in 3T3-L1 cell line

Abstract

Momordica charantia is widely used as a traditional food for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Although hypoglycemic effect of goyasaponin fraction has been proven on rats, much less is known about its in vitro mechanisms, especially on adipose tissue, a target tissue for antidiabetic drugs. A variety of goyasaponin compounds were identified in both Fruit and Seed CGF on the basis of molecular fragment match to reported molecular weights. Our findings suggest Fruit CGF might obtain an anti-obesity effect but it does not show a potential as a PPARr agonist on this in vitro model as Fruit CGF neither enhanced adipogenesis nor promoted adiponectin secretion from differentiated adipocytes. Therefore, unlike TZDs treatment, hypoglycemic effect of Fruit CGF might be achieved via different pathways. Moreover, our results also suggest that Seed CGF displayed similar effects when compared to the edible portion and it may have the potential for future nutraceutical development.