5-Heptadecylresorcinol alleviated high-fat diet induced obesity and insulin resistance by activating brown adipose tissue

The whitening and loss of brown adipose tissue (BAT) during obesity and aging are associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome and chronic diseases. 5-Heptadecylresorcinol (AR-C17), the specific biomarker of whole-grain wheat and rye intake, has been proved to have notable health promoting effects, whereas whether AR-C17 could modulate BAT function and the potential mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, we found that AR-C17 could significantly inhibit body weight gain and insulin resistance in high-fat diet (HFD) induced obese mice. Moreover, AR-C17 treatment improved whole body energy metabolism and alleviated the whitening and loss of BAT compared with the HFD group. RNA sequencing and western-blot analysis indicated that expression of genes and proteins related to BAT energy metabolism was upregulated by AR-C17 administration, including AMPK, UCP-1, ACSL1, CPT1A, and SIRT3. These results suggested that brown adipose tissue might be the target of AR-C17 to prevent obesity and its associated insulin resistance.