Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Evaluating the Nutritional Composition of Unripe Citrus and Its Effect on Inhibiting Adipogenesis and Adipocyte Differentiation

  • Sunghee Kim (Research Institute of Tailored Food Technology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Eunbi Lee (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Juhye Park (School of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Ju-Ock Nam (Research Institute of Tailored Food Technology, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Soo Rin Kim (Research Institute of Tailored Food Technology, Kyungpook National University)
  • Received : 2024.03.11
  • Accepted : 2024.04.09
  • Published : 2024.06.28
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Abstract

Citrus fruits offer a range of health benefits due to their rich nutritional profile, including vitamin C, flavonoids, carotenoids, and fiber. It is known that unripe citrus has higher levels of vitamin C, dietary fiber, polyphenols, and flavonoids compared to mature fruits. In this study, we assessed the nutritional components of unripe citrus peel and pressed juices, as well as their anti-obesity potential through the modulation of adipocyte differentiation and the expression of adipogenesis-related genes, specifically PPARγ and C/EBPα, in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Our analysis revealed that unripe citrus peel exhibited elevated levels of fiber and protein compared to pressed juice, with markedly low levels of free sugar, particularly sucrose. The content of hesperidin, a representative flavonoid in citrus fruits, was 3,157.6 mg/kg in unripe citrus peel and 455.5 mg/kg in pressed juice, indicating that it was approximately seven times higher in unripe citrus peel compared to pressed juice. Moreover, we observed that the peel had a dose-dependently inhibitory effect on adipocyte differentiation, which was linked to a significant downregulation of adipogenesis-related gene expression. Thus, our findings suggest that unripe citrus possesses anti-obesity effects by impeding adipogenesis and adipocyte differentiation, with the peel demonstrating a more pronounced effect compared to pressed juice.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was financially supported by the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups (MSS), Korea, under the "Regional Specialized Industry Development Plus Program (R&D, S3369111)" supervised by the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA).

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