(−)-Epicatechin and the comorbidities of obesity

• Published in: Archives of biochemistry and biophysics 2020-09, Vol.690, p.108505, Article 108505
• Main Authors: Cremonini, Eleonora, Iglesias, Dario E., Kang, Jiye, Lombardo, Giovanni E., Mostofinejad, Zahra, Wang, Ziwei, Zhu, Wei, Oteiza, Patricia I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: biophysics; cardiovascular diseases; cognition; dysbiosis; Dyslipidemia; endoplasmic reticulum; endotoxins; Epicatechin; fatty liver; glucose; human health; humans; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Intestine; lifestyle; mitochondria; noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; Obesity; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 0003-9861; 1096-0384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2020.108505

Obesity has major adverse consequences on human health contributing to the development of, among others, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, altered behavior and cognition, and cancer. Changes in dietary habits and lifestyle could contribute to mitigate the development and/or progression of these pathologies. This review will discuss current evidence on the beneficial actions of the flavan-3-ol (−)-epicatechin (EC) on obesity-associated comorbidities. These benefits can be in part explained through EC's capacity to mitigate several common events underlying the development of these pathologies, including: i) high circulating levels of glucose, lipids and endotoxins; ii) chronic systemic inflammation; iii) tissue endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress; iv) insulin resistance; v) mitochondria dysfunction and vi) dysbiosis. The currently known underlying mechanisms and cellular targets of EC's beneficial effects are discussed. While, there is limited evidence from human studies supplementing with pure EC, other studies involving cocoa supplementation in humans, pure EC in rodents and in vitro studies, support a potential beneficial action of EC on obesity-associated comorbidities. This evidence also stresses the need of further research in the field, which would contribute to the development of human dietary strategies to mitigate the adverse consequences of obesity. •Obesity and its associated comorbidities are of major public health concern worldwide.•The flavan-3-ol (−)-epicatechin (EC) has beneficial actions on obesity-associated pathologies.•EC ameliorates high circulating levels of glucose, lipids and endotoxins, and mitigates systemic inflammation.•EC mitigates endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress, insulin resistance and mitochondria dysfunction.•Evidence supports EC’s beneficial actions but also stresses the need of further research to develop human dietary strategies.