Abstract
The effects of extracts from several plants on lipolysis were examined by measuring glycerol released from mature 3T3-L1 cells. First, citrus unshu peel (chinpi) and bitter orange peel (touhi) were found to possess quite potent activities for promotion of lipolysis. Second, it was found that citrus unshu peel, which had the strongest activity, released a large quantity of fatty acid and decreased the intracellular level of triglyceride. When 3T3-L1 cells were cultivated in a medium supplemented with extract from citrus unshu peel for 20 days, lipid droplets in the cells were reduced in volume. This phenomenon was consistent with a significant decrease in intracellular triglyceride. These results suggest that extracts of citrus unshu peel and citrus fruit peel exhibit marked lipolysis-stimulating activities in 3T3-L1 cells.
