Insulin resistance (IR) has become a major threat to public health due to its role in metabolic syndrome. Inflammation associated with IR is an interesting area of biomedical research in recent years and is expected to affect insulin signalling pathway via downregulating glucose transporters. In the present study, we evaluate the potential of punicic acid (PA), a nutraceutical found in pomegranate seed oil, against TNF-α induced alteration in 3T3-L1 adipocytes on glucose metabolism, endocrine function and inflammation. IR was induced in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by treating with TNF-α (10 ng/mL) and various concentrations of PA (5, 10, 30 μM) were incubated simultaneously. After 24 h, we found that TNF-α treatment increased mRNA expression of SOCS3, PTP1B and a decrease in IRS1 causing diminished glucose uptake. Further, it showed significantly increased transcriptional activity of NFκB and leptin secretion while PA maintained leptin levels normal. Additionally, PA prevented the over-expression of phosphorylated JNK in a dose dependent manner during IR. PA also ameliorated significantly the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines. From the results, we conclude that PA is effective to ameliorate TNF-α induced IR and also we recommend the intake of PA for control and management of IR and its associated complications.

由于胰岛素抵抗（IR）在代谢综合征中的作用，已成为对公共健康的主要威胁。与IR相关的炎症是近年来生物医学研究的一个有趣领域，并且有望通过下调葡萄糖转运蛋白来影响胰岛素信号传导途径。在本研究中，我们评估了石榴籽油中的一种保健食品石榴酸（PA）对TNF-α诱导的3T3-L1脂肪细胞对葡萄糖代谢，内分泌功能和炎症的改变的潜力。通过用TNF-α（10 ng / mL）处理在3T3-L1脂肪细胞中诱导IR，并同时孵育各种浓度的PA（5、10、30μM）。24小时后，我们发现TNF-α处理可增加SOCS3，PTP1B的mRNA表达，并降低IRS1的表达，从而导致葡萄糖摄取减少。进一步，它显示NFκB的转录活性和瘦素分泌显着增加，而PA维持瘦素水平正常。另外，PA在IR期间以剂量依赖的方式防止了磷酸化的JNK的过表达。PA还明显改善了促炎细胞因子的上调。从结果可以得出结论，PA有效改善TNF-α诱导的IR，并且我们建议摄入PA以控制和管理IR及其相关并发症。