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Menthol‐induced hyperthermia and its implication for a pharmacological approach to obesity prevention and treatment
Author(s) -
Armentano Giovana Marchini,
Vizin Robson Cristiano Lillo,
Carrettiero Daniel Carneiro,
Almeida Maria Camila
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.842.10
Subject(s) - menthol , obesity , endocrinology , weight gain , medicine , lean body mass , body weight , thermoregulation , weight loss , body mass index , chemistry , organic chemistry
We have previously shown that short‐term repeated treatment with topical menthol results in less body mass gain in lean Wistar rats compared to controls due to a persistent increase in energy expenditure, with limited compensatory thermoregulatory adaptations and, most unexpectedly, without affecting food intake (Vizin et al, J Appl Physiol. 2018 124(3):672–683). Menthol seems thus to be a promising drug for the prevention of obesity. Whether repeated topical application of menthol affects body weight gain in obese animals is not known. We tested the effects of topical menthol (5%) treatment on body weight gain and body temperature on both genetic obese ob/ob mice and in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obesity in Wistar rats. In control mice (WT) repeated application of menthol (9 days) resulted in a reduction of body mass gain, as a consequence of increased energy expenditure, as measured by the persistent hyperthermic response after menthol. However, in obese ob/ob mice repeated application of menthol for 9 days was not sufficient to cause a significant reduction in body mass gain. The hyperthermic response of ob/ob mice to menthol was reduced as compared to WT thermoregulatory response. In HFD‐obese rats, topical menthol treatment for 9 days resulted in a decrease in ~20g in mean body weight, which is correspondent to a 5% reduction in body mass. Menthol treatment was accompanied by a hyperthermic response in obese rats, which most probably accounted for the increased energy expenditure that allowed body mass reduction. Our data support the suggestion that menthol is a promising drug not only for obesity prevention (as it reduces body mass gain in lean animals) but also for the treatment of HFD‐induced obesity as well. Support or Funding Information Fapesp (grants 2017/13062‐5 and 2015/02991‐0) This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .