Natural and Synthetic Compounds for Management, Prevention and Treatment of Obesity

Abstract

For a long time, adipose tissue has been considered an inert tissue involved in fat accumulation. Indeed, this tissue acts as an energy reserve, synthesizing and storing triacylglycerols from an excess of lipids and carbohydrates in feeding conditions (or degrading them in fasting ones). However, over the last few decades, emerging evidences has highlighted that adipose tissue serves as endocrine organ which is able to synthesize and secrete a significant amount of hormones, cytokines, and enzymes [1]. The substances produced and released by adipose tissue are known as adipokines and are able to act locally through autocrine/paracrine mechanisms or to influence the response of many organs and tissues through endocrine mechanisms, including the hypothalamus, pancreas, liver, skeletal muscle, and immune system [2]. Adipokines are involved in the control of a range of processes, including food intake, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory pathways [2]. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue is composed by other cell types including immune cells, endothelial cells, and adipose precursor cells (among others), which contribute to the production of adipokines and cytokines as a result of cellular crosstalk. Notably, immune cells which are associated or recruited in adipose tissue can release both pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines whose production changes in relationship to the expansion of adipose tissue