The literature has reported a higher prevalence of negative clinical outcomes due to Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in obese individuals. This can be explained by the cytokine storm, result from the cytokine production from both obesity and viral infection. Gamma-oryzanol (γOz) is a compound with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, little is known about the γOz action as a possible agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that γOz attenuates the cytokine storm by stimulating PPAR-γ in the adipose tissue. Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups and fed ad libitum for 30 weeks with control diet (C, n = 6), high sugar-fat diet (HSF, n = 6) or high sugar-fat diet + γOz (HSF + γOz, n = 6). HSF groups also received water + sucrose (25%). The γOz dose was 0.5% in the chow. Evaluation in animals included caloric intake, body weight, adiposity index, plasma triglycerides, and HOMA-IR. In adipose tissue was evaluated: PPAR-γ gene and protein expression, inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters, and histological analysis. Results: Adipose tissue dysfunction was observed in HSF group, which presented remarkable PPAR-γ underexpression and increased levels of cytokines, other inflammatory markers and oxidative stress. The γOz treatment prevented adipose tissue dysfunction and promoted PPAR-γ overexpression. Conclusion: Natural compounds as γOz can be considered a coadjutant therapy to prevent the cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients with obesity conditions.

文献报道，肥胖个体中因冠状病毒病 19 (COVID-19) 导致的阴性临床结果的发生率较高。这可以用细胞因子风暴来解释，细胞因子风暴是由肥胖和病毒感染产生的细胞因子引起的。 γ-谷维素 (γOz) 是一种具有抗炎和抗氧化活性的化合物。然而，人们对 γOz 作为过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体 γ (PPAR-γ) 可能的激动剂的作用知之甚少。本研究的目的是检验 γOz 通过刺激脂肪组织中的 PPAR-γ 来减弱细胞因子风暴的假设。方法：雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为3个实验组，分别采用对照饮食（C，n = 6）、高糖脂肪饮食（HSF，n = 6）或高糖脂肪饮食+γOz自由采食30周。 （HSF + γOz，n = 6）。 HSF 组还接受水+蔗糖（25%）。饲料中的 γOz 剂量为 0.5%。动物评估包括热量摄入、体重、肥胖指数、血浆甘油三酯和 HOMA-IR。在脂肪组织中评估：PPAR-γ基因和蛋白质表达、炎症和氧化应激参数以及组织学分析。结果： HSF组观察到脂肪组织功能障碍，表现为PPAR-γ显着低表达，细胞因子、其他炎症标志物和氧化应激水平升高。 γOz 治疗可预防脂肪组织功能障碍并促进 PPAR-γ 过度表达。结论： γOz 等天然化合物可被认为是预防肥胖症 COVID-19 患者细胞因子风暴的辅助疗法。