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Researchers screened natural plant compounds and identified magnolol and dicoumarol as effective enhancers of fat cell production (adipogenesis) in mouse, pig, and sheep cell cultures. These compounds promoted lipid accumulation through normal fat cell development pathways but with a more targeted genetic effect than synthetic alternatives like rosiglitazone, which are not approved for food production. The combination successfully differentiated fat cells from multiple livestock species, addressing a key technical challenge in cultured meat production.
Why it matters
This finding could help produce lab-grown meat with better taste, texture, and nutritional profiles by enabling efficient fat tissue development using food-safe natural compounds rather than synthetic chemicals. The screening approach can be applied to develop other tissue types for cellular agriculture and meat alternatives.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Edible adipose tissue can enhance the sensory and nutritional qualities of cultivated and plant-based meats, yet efficient adipogenic differentiation remains a major bottleneck and synthetic PPAR{gamma} agonists are not approved for use in food production. Here, we report a natural compound screen in 3T3-L1 adipocytes that identifies magnolol and dicoumarol as enhancers of adipogenesis; this combination also robustly promotes lipid accumulation in primary porcine dedifferentiated fat cells and ovine preadipocytes. Transcriptomic analyses show that magnolol and dicoumarol induce adipogenesis in murine and porcine cell systems through canonical adipogenic pathways with a narrower transcriptional footprint than the potent PPAR{gamma} agonist rosiglitazone. These findings support the potential of naturally occurring compounds magnolol and dicoumarol as enhancers of adipogenesis for both mechanistic studies and food-relevant applications. More broadly, our findings establish a generalizable screening framework and identify small-molecule combinations that accelerate adipose tissue engineering across murine, porcine, and ovine culture systems.
Source: Natural compounds magnolol and dicoumarol enhance adipogenesis for future food applications