HYPEROSIDE REDUCES FAT ACCUMULATION IN CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS

Hyperoside is a well-characterized flavonol glycoside possessing a diverse range of bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic regulatory properties that contribute to its anti-obesity, hypoglycemic, and organ-protective effects. However, the underlying mechanisms of its anti-obesity effect are not fully understood, and studies in C. elegans have focused on plant extracts rather than hyperoside as a single compound. Therefore, this study aimed to determine hyperoside's role in fat reduction and its mechanism using Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans is a powerful model organism for metabolic research due to its well-conserved lipid metabolism genes and genetic tractability. In this study, 100 µM hyperoside was found to significantly reduce triglyceride accumulation in wild-type worms by approximately 11%, without affecting food intake or locomotive activity. Mechanistic investigation using genetic mutants revealed that 100 µM hyperoside had no significant fat-reducing effect in daf-2, daf-16, and nhr-49 mutants, suggesting that its mechanism is dependent on the Insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1-like signaling (IIS) pathway and the nuclear receptor NHR-49.