Kang, Min-CheolDing, YulingKim, Eun-AChoi, Youn KyungDe Araujo, ThiagoHeo, Soo-JinLee, Seung-Hong2017-06-152017Kang, Min-Cheol, Yuling Ding, Eun-A Kim, Youn Kyung Choi, Thiago De Araujo, Soo-Jin Heo, and Seung-Hong Lee. 2017. “Indole Derivatives Isolated from Brown Alga Sargassum thunbergii Inhibit Adipogenesis through AMPK Activation in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes.” Marine Drugs 15 (4): 119. doi:10.3390/md15040119. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/md15040119.http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33029748Seaweed, a popular and abundant food ingredient mainly consumed in Asian countries, is a good source of bioactive compounds with anti-obesity effects. However, the anti-obesity effects of Sargassum thunbergii have not yet been established. In this study, we isolated six indole derivatives (STCs)—indole-2-carboxaldehyde (STC-1), indole-3-carboxaldehyde (STC-2), indole-4-carboxaldehyde (STC-3), indole-5-carboxaldehyde (STC-4), indole-6-carboxaldehyde (STC-5), and indole-7-carboxaldehyde (STC-6)—from S. thunbergii and evaluated their inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. We found that STC-1 and STC-5 resulted in non-toxic inhibition of the differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and thus selected these compounds for further study. STC-1 and STC-5 significantly inhibited lipid accumulation and downregulated the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) in a dose-dependent manner. The specific mechanism mediating the effects of STC-1 and STC-5 was shown to be AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Our results demonstrated the inhibitory effect of STC-1 and STC-5 on adipogenesis through the activation of the AMPK signal pathway. Together, these findings suggested that STC-1 and STC-5 may be effective candidates for the prevention of obesity or obesity-related diseases.en-USanti-obesity effectadipocyteindole derivativesJournal Article2017-06-1510.3390/md15040119