Abstract

Fucoxanthin, a characteristic carotenoid found in brown seaweeds, shows anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effectson the basis of specific molecular mechanism. Fucoxanthin induces uncoupling protein 1 expression in white adipose tissue(WAT) mitochondria leading to oxidation of fatty acids and heat production in WAT. Fucoxanthin improves insulin resistanceand decreases blood glucose level through the down-regulation of adipokines such as TNFα, MCP-1, IL-6, and PAI-1 in WATand up-regulation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle. The anti-obesity effect of fucoxanthin is likely linked toits structural characteristic – an allene bond and an additional hydroxyl substituent on the side group of the fucoxanthinmetabolites, fucoxanthinol and amarouciaxanthin A.