Investigation of the Effect of Quercetin on the Accumulation of Lipids and the Level of Adiponectin in 3t3-L1 Adipocytes

Abstract

Purpose: Obesity disrupts the homeostasis of adipose tissue, leading to an increase in the number and size of adipose cells. Many positive effects of quercetin polyphenol on health through various mechanisms are known in the literature. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of quercetin on lipid accumulation and adiponectin (ADP) levels in mature and hypertrophic adipocytes. Materials and methods: In this study, 3T3-L1 differentiated preadipocyte cells were exposed to high glucose media for 8 days to generate mature adipocytes, then for 18 days to produce hypertrophic adipocytes. Quercetin (40 and 80 µM) was administered to mature adipocytes for 24 hours and to hypertrophic adipocytes for 48 hours. Lipid content was visualized by Oil-Red-O staining method. Lipid accumulation and ADP level were measured by ELISA method. For statistical analysis, one-way analysis of variance (post hoc: Tukey test) was used. p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The administration of both quercetin doses to mature adipocytes significantly reduced lipid accumulation (p=0.0001). The administration of 80 µM quercetin in mature adipocytes caused a significant increase in ADP levels (p=0.0001). Administration of quercetin to hypertrophic adipocytes caused a significant decrease in ADP levels (p=0.0001). Conclusion: Our study revealed that quercetin decreased lipid accumulation and increased ADP levels in mature adipocytes. However, in hypertrophic adipocytes, quercetin had no significant effect on lipid accumulation and decreased ADP levels. These findings suggest that quercetin has protective effects on health in the early stages of obesity, but its efficacy is limited in the later stages of obesity. © 2025, Pamukkale University. All rights reserved.