Nobiletin – another potential geroprotector?

Flavonoid nobiletin from tangerines fights type 2 diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosisLifeSciencesToday based on the materials of The University of Western Ontario:

Substance in tangerines fights obesity and protects against heart disease

Scientists from the University of Western Ontario (Canada) have found that one of the flavonoids contained in tangerines not only helps prevent obesity, but also protects against type 2 diabetes and even atherosclerosis, which is the cause of most heart attacks and strokes.

(Interest in resveratrol began with the discovery of the same effects, and led to the development of sirtuins – one of the most promising "medicines for old age". Maybe nobiletin will also turn out to be a potential geroprotector? – VM)

Murray Huff, who studies vascular biology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and graduate student Erin Mulvihill studied the effect of one of the flavonoids contained in tangerines, called Nobiletin.

Huff's laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute conducted a series of experiments on a model of the metabolic syndrome reproduced in mice. The mice received a so-called "Western" diet with a high content of fats and simple sugars. One group of animals developed obesity and all the signs associated with metabolic syndrome were observed: elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high levels of insulin and glucose in the blood, as well as fatty liver infiltration. These metabolic disorders significantly increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.

In the mice of the second group, who were on exactly the same diet, but with the addition of nobiletin, there was no increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or glucose levels. Their weight gain also remained within the norm. Animals have become much more sensitive to the action of insulin. Nobiletin has been shown to prevent the accumulation of fat in the liver by stimulating the expression of genes involved in the burning of excess fat and suppressing the genes responsible for its formation.

"The mice treated with nobiletin were essentially protected from obesity," Huff comments on the results of the study. "In long–term studies, nobiletin also protects these animals from atherosclerosis – plaque deposits in the arteries that cause heart attacks and strokes."

This work paves the way for future research to find out whether nobiletin can become a treatment for metabolic syndrome and related diseases in humans.

Huff's research activity focuses on the pharmacological properties of naturally occurring biologically active molecules. His work attracted international attention when two years ago he found that the grapefruit flavonoid Naringenin also protects against obesity, type 2 diabetes and other signs of metabolic syndrome. However, compared with naringenin, nobiletin has a ten times more powerful effect and, in addition, is able to prevent the development of atherosclerosis.

The study was published in the journal Diabetes: Nobiletin Attenuates VLDL Overproduction, Dyslipidemia, and Atherosclerosis in Mice With Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.04.2011