Effect of Garlic Oil on Fatty Acid Accumulation and Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Activity in Differentiating Adipocytes

Garlic oil (GAR, Allium sativum L.) has been studied as a feed additive to improve animal production performance and decrease methane emission in ruminants. The present study was designed to determine the possible effect of GAR on fatty acid composition and accumulation in animal fat tissue using a cell model. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes at $2{\times}10^{4}\;mL^{-1}$ were seeded to 24-well plates and allowed to proliferate to reach confluence. The cells were then treated with media containing 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 $\mu{g}$ $mL^{-1}$ of GAR during the differentiation period for 8 days. Media containing dexamethasone, methyl-isobutylxanthine and insulin was applied during the first 2 days of the early differentiation period. On day 8 sub-sets of the wells were stained with oil red-O and the remaining cells were harvested for determination of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [EC 1.1.1.8] (GPDH) activity (n = 6) and cellular fatty acid concentration (n = 6). It was found that supplementation of GAR increased (p<0.05) the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids in the adipocytes and showed inhibitory effect (p<0.05) on the post-confluent proliferation. With relative low dosage, GAR (5-20 $\mu{g}$ $mL^{-1}$) increased (p<0.05) the GPDH activity without affecting the cellular fatty acid concentration, while a high dosage (40 $\mu{g}$ $mL^{-1}$) inhibited (p<0.05) fatty acid accumulation and decreased GPDH activity. Supplementation of GAR had an effect on cell post-confluent proliferation, differentiation and fatty acid accumulation. However, the effect may be diverse and depends on the dose applied.