To treat obesity, suppression of white adipose tissue (WAT) expansion and activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) are considered as potential therapeutic targets. Recent advances have been made in the induction of brown fat-like adipocytes (beige) in WAT, which represents an attractive potential strategy for the management and treatment of obesity. Use of natural compounds for browning of white adipocytes can be considered as a safe and novel strategy against obesity. Here, we report that trans-anethole (TA), a flavoring substance present in the essential oils of various plants, alleviated high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice models via elevation of the expression of beige-specific genes such as Ppargc1α, Prdm16, Ucp1, Cd137, Cited1, Tbx1, and Tmem26. TA also regulated lipid metabolism in white adipocytes via reduction of adipogenesis and lipogenesis as well as elevation of lipolysis and fat oxidation. Moreover, TA exhibited thermogenic activity by increasing mitochondrial biogenesis in white adipocytes and activating brown adipocytes. In addition, molecular docking analysis enabled us to successfully predict core proteins for fat browning such as β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) and sirtuin1 (SIRT1) based on their low binding energy interactions with TA for promotion of regulatory mechanisms. Indeed, agonistic and antagonistic studies demonstrated that TA induced browning of 3T3-L1 adipocytes through activation of β3-AR as well as the AMPK-mediated SIRT1 pathway regulating PPARα and PGC-1α. In conclusion, TA possesses potential therapeutic implications for treatment of obesity by playing multiple modulatory roles in the induction of white fat browning, activation of brown adipocytes, and promotion of lipid catabolism.

为了治疗肥胖症，将抑制白色脂肪组织（WAT）扩张和激活棕色脂肪组织（BAT）视为潜在的治疗目标。在WAT中诱导褐色脂肪样脂肪细胞（米色）方面取得了最新进展，这代表了肥胖症管理和治疗的潜在诱人策略。天然化合物用于白色脂肪细胞褐变的使用被认为是对抗肥胖的安全且新颖的策略。在这里，我们报告说，通过各种植物的精油中存在的调味物质Trans - anethole（TA），通过提高米色特异性基因（如Ppargc1α）的表达，减轻了高脂饮食（HFD）诱导的小鼠模型中的肥胖。，Prdm16，Ucp1，Cd137，Cited1，Tbx1和Tmem26。TA还通过减少脂肪生成和脂肪生成以及脂解作用和脂肪氧化的升高来调节白色脂肪细胞中的脂质代谢。而且，TA通过增加白色脂肪细胞中的线粒体生物发生并激活褐色脂肪细胞而表现出产热活性。此外，分子对接分析使我们能够成功预测脂肪褐变的核心蛋白，例如β3-肾上腺素能受体（β3-AR）和sirtuin1（SIRT1），因为它们与TA的低结合能相互作用促进了调节机制。确实，激动和拮抗的研究表明，TA通过激活β3-AR以及AMPK介导的调节PPARα和PGC-1α的SIRT1途径，诱导3T3-L1脂肪细胞褐变。综上所述，