Abelmoschus esculentus prevents obesity-related metabolic disorders by increasing the activity of brown adipose tissue and white adipose browning via activating AMPK

Obesity is a global health concern with high metabolic disease risk. Boosting the activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT) browning combats against metabolic disorders. Abelmoschus esculentus (AE) was reported to improve metabolic disorders, but the mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to investigate AE's therapeutic mechanism in metabolic disorders. We explore the effect of AE on rats with high-fat diet and the primary adipocytes isolated from rat adipose tissue. In rats, the results showed that AE effectively ameliorated metabolic disorders induced by HFD, enhanced BAT activity, and WAT browning. In addition, AE significantly increased the AMPK phosphorylation in rat adipose tissues and primary adipocytes. Inhibition of AMPK in primary adipocytes abolished AE's beneficial effects, whereas AMPK activation significantly potentiated AE's effect. It demonstrates AE alleviates obesity-related metabolic dysfunction via AMPK-mediated activation of BAT and WAT browning, suggesting AE's therapeutic potential for metabolic disorders management. • AE can improve obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipoidemia, and increase adaptive thermogenesis in rats. • AE promotes BAT activity and WAT browning in rats and primary adipocytes from rats. • AE may exhibit effects through AMPK-dependent mechanism.