Pomegranate vinegar attenuates adiposity in obese rats through coordinated control of AMPK signaling in the liver and adipose tissue

BACKGROUND: The effect of pomegranate vinegar (PV) on adiposity was investigated in high-fat diet (HF)-induced obese rats. METHODS: The rats were divided into 5 groups and treated with HF with PV or acetic acid (0, 6.5 or 13% w/w) for 16 weeks. Statistical analyses were performed by the Statistical Analysis Systems package, version 9.2. RESULTS: Compared to control, PV supplementation increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), leading to changes in mRNA expressions: increases for hormone sensitive lipase and mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 and decreases for sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ (PPARγ) in adipose tissue; increases for PPARα and carnitinepalmitoyltransferase-1a (CPT-1a) and decrease for SREBP-1c in the liver. Concomitantly, PV reduced increases of body weight (p = 0.048), fat mass (p = 0.033), hepatic triglycerides (p = 0.005), and plasma triglycerides (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PV attenuates adiposity through the coordinated control of AMPK, which leads to promotion of lipolysis in adipose tissue and stimulation of fatty acid oxidation in the liver.