Mineral-rich Jeju lava sea water suppresses lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and ameliorates high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 J mice

This research aimed to evaluate the potential inhibitory effect of mineral-rich Jeju lava sea water (JLSW) on lipid accumulation. This study optimized the calcium (Ca): magnesium (Mg) ratio (5:1, 2.5:1, 1:1) of JLSW and evaluated the effect on lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells using Oil Red O staining. JLSW with a high Ca:Mg ratio (5:1) suppressed lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Based on these in-vitro results, the effects of JLSW on lipid accumulation were investigated in C57BL/6 J mice fed high-fat diets for 14 weeks. Epididymal adipose tissue weight was significantly decreased in mice that received JLSW with a hardness of 800 or 100 mg/L compared to HFD. Adipocyte size was significantly reduced in mice treated with JLSW with a hardness of 20 mg/L in comparison with HFD. Thus, long-term intake of JLSW may be expected to have anti-obesity effects due to the reduction of lipid accumulation.