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Natural Products in Obesity: Novel Strategies and Molecular Mechanisms: 2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 2565

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Food and Nutrition, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung-si 25457, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: obesity; metabolic disease; vitamin D; adipocyte; inflammation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity has long been a public health threat because it is closely associated with metabolic comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Therapeutic approaches to prevent and/or treat obesity have been developed and employed. Recent research has provided evidence that numerous potential materials from natural sources, including natural plants such as herbs, fruits, and vegetables, and natural dietary compounds as well as their active compounds might be useful in preventing the development of obesity and its related metabolic diseases. This Special Issue will focus on understanding novel and comprehensive metabolic pathways, as well as how natural products influence obesity and its associated metabolic disturbances.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, entitled “Natural Products in Obesity: Novel Strategies and Molecular Mechanisms 2.0”, aims to solicit original research papers or review articles on the current state of the research in this field, including both discovery and preclinical studies.

We look forward to your contributions to this research field.

Dr. Eugene Chang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • obesity
  • inflammation
  • white adipose tissue
  • adipogenesis
  • oxidative stress
  • metabolic disease
  • molecular mechanisms

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 5178 KiB  
Article
Capsaicin Reduces Obesity by Reducing Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation
by Jiaxin Yang, Wanyi Li and Yuanwei Wang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8979; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168979 - 18 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI) is associated with obesity and is one of its pathogenetic mechanisms. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of Gram-negative bacterial cell walls, is the principal cause of CLGI. Studies have found that capsaicin significantly reduces the relative abundance of LPS-producing bacteria. [...] Read more.
Chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI) is associated with obesity and is one of its pathogenetic mechanisms. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of Gram-negative bacterial cell walls, is the principal cause of CLGI. Studies have found that capsaicin significantly reduces the relative abundance of LPS-producing bacteria. In the present study, TRPV1-knockout (TRPV1−/−) C57BL/6J mice and the intestinal epithelial cell line Caco-2 (TRPV1−/−) were used as models to determine the effect of capsaicin on CLGI and elucidate the mechanism by which it mediates weight loss in vivo and in vitro. We found that the intragastric administration of capsaicin significantly blunted increases in body weight, food intake, blood lipid, and blood glucose in TRPV1−/− mice fed a high-fat diet, suggesting an anti-obesity effect of capsaicin. Capsaicin reduced LPS levels in the intestine by reducing the relative abundance of Proteobacteria such as Helicobacter, Desulfovibrio, and Sutterella. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) levels decreased following decreases in LPS levels. Then, the local inflammation of the intestine was reduced by reducing the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 mediated by TLR4. Attenuating local intestinal inflammation led to the increased expression of tight junction proteins zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) and occludin and the restoration of the intestinal barrier function. Capsaicin increased the expression of ZO-1 and occludin at the transcriptional and translational levels, thereby increasing trans-endothelial electrical resistance and restoring intestinal barrier function. The restoration of intestinal barrier function decreases intestinal permeability, which reduces the concentration of LPS entering the circulation, and reduced endotoxemia leads to decreased serum concentrations of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6, thereby attenuating CLGI. This study sheds light on the anti-obesity effect of capsaicin and its mechanism by reducing CLGI, increasing our understanding of the anti-obesity effects of capsaicin. It has been confirmed that capsaicin can stimulate the expression of intestinal transmembrane protein ZO-1 and cytoplasmic protein occludin, increase the trans-epithelial electrical resistance value, and repair intestinal barrier function. Full article
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