Authors
Meng Yang, Xiaoyun Jiang, Xiaojun Zhang, Xiuqin Deng, Yuzhi Chen, Weiheng Xie, Yuxing Huang, Yiting Lei, Jiali Chen, Yanyan Wang, Suidong Ouyang, Gonghua Huang, Xinguang Liu
Published in
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. Jul 21, 2026. Epub Jul 21, 2026.
Abstract
Licorice, a widely used herb in food additives and nutraceuticals, primarily exerts its biological effects through 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (18β-GA) in vivo. Here, we aimed to investigate whether 18β-GA attenuates obesity-associated white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammaging and to clarify the molecular events responsible for its protective effects. Using a high-fat diet mouse model together with cultured adipose progenitor cells (APCs), we found that 18β-GA significantly mitigated inflammation and cellular senescence in WAT, diminished the expression of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and restored APC adipogenic differentiation potential. Network pharmacology analysis pinpointed HMGCR (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase) as a key candidate target, with subsequent experiments confirming that the anti-inflammaging effect of 18β-GA was comparable to established HMGCR inhibitors. Furthermore, 18β-GA markedly reduced cholesterol accumulation in WAT, which directly induces APC senescence, suggesting that cholesterol homeostasis regulation represents a key mechanism responsible for its protective activity. Thus, 18β-GA emerges as a promising nutraceutical agent for combating obesity-driven metabolic disorders and chronic inflammation in WAT.
PMID:
42479076
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Jul 2026.
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