Tryptophan enhances diet-induced improvement of white adipose tissue in obese rats

Authors

  • Roman Yanko Department of Clinical Physiology of Connective Tissue, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0397-7517
  • Mikhail Levashov Department of Clinical Physiology of Connective Tissue, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1354-2047

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS250902026Y

Keywords:

balanced diet, L-tryptophan, obesity, rats, white adipose tissue

Abstract

Paper description:

  • Dietary correction, a mainstay in obesity treatment, has limited effectiveness. L-tryptophan has shown potential in regulating lipid metabolism. This study investigated whether L-tryptophan enhances white adipose tissue (WAT) recovery during dietary correction in obese rats.
  • Forty-eight Wistar rats were assigned to control, high-calorie diet, dietary correction, and dietary correction with L-tryptophan (80 mg/kg).
  • L-tryptophan improved WAT morphology, reduced fibrosis, restored vascularization, and normalized lipid profiles better than diet alone, with changes in bioimpedance confirming improved tissue integrity.
  • L-tryptophan can potentiate dietary obesity treatment, offering a promising adjunct strategy for restoring the morpho-functional state of WAT.

Abstract: The study examined the effect of L-tryptophan on white adipose tissue and its potential to enhance the effectiveness of fasting-dietary obesity correction. Forty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four groups: I – control; II – animals that received a high-calorie diet for 12 weeks; III – rats that after 12 weeks of a high-calorie diet received a balanced diet for 4 weeks; IV – rats that after 12 weeks of a high-calorie diet received a balanced diet with the addition of L-tryptophan (80 mg/kg body weight) for 4 weeks. The high-calorie diet contained 45% fat, 9% protein, and 31% carbohydrate. Physiological, morphological, histomorphometric, biochemical, and biophysical methods were used in the experiment. A high-calorie diet induced obesity and structural alterations in white adipose tissue in the rats. Dietary L-tryptophan accelerated restoration of adipocyte composition, decreased connective tissue, improved white adipose tissue vascularization, and normalized visceral fat mass and lipid metabolism markers. L-tryptophan also contributed to a reduction in the disturbance of the bioelectric properties of the white adipose tissue in obesity. This may indicate restoration of adipocyte membrane integrity, adipose tissue hydration, and microstructural organization. The presented information may be applied clinically in the comprehensive treatment of obesity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Khanna D, Khanna S, Khanna P, Kahar P, Patel BM. Obesity: A chronic low-grade inflammation and its markers. Cureus. 2022;14(2):e22711. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.22711

Masood B, Moorthy M. Causes of obesity: a review. Clin Med (Lond). 2023;23(4):284–91. http://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2023-0168

Solovyuk OO. Obesity and its consequences: a teaching aid. Zaporizhia: ZDMU; 2018. 93 p. [Ukraine].

Ruban A, Stoenchev K, Ashrafian H, Teare J. Current treatments for obesity. Clin Med (Lond). 2019;19(3):205–12. http://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.19-3-205

Baker JS, Supriya R, Dutheil F, Gao Y. Obesity: Treatments, Conceptualizations, and Future Directions for a Growing Problem. Biology. 2022;11(2):160. http://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020160

Cornejo-Pareja I, Clemente-Postigo M, Tinahones FJ. Metabolic and Endocrine Consequences of Bariatric Surgery. Front Endocrinol. 2019;10:626. http://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2019.00626

Morsali M, Poorolajal J, Shahbazi F, Vahidinia A, Doosti-Irani A. Diet therapeutics interventions for obesity: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Res Health Sci. 2021;21(3):e00521. http://doi.org/10.34172/jrhs.2021.63

Yanko R, Levashov M, Safonov S. Tryptophan reduces the degree of brown adipose tissue whitening in rats with visceral obesity. Eur J Clin Exp Med. 2024;22(4):862–9. https://doi.org/10.15584/ejcem.2024.4.29

Bello NT, Liang NC. The use of serotonergic drugs to treat obesity--is there any hope? Drug Des Devel Ther. 2011;5:95–109. http://doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S11859

Xu L, Li D, Li H, Zhang O, Huang Y, Shao H, Wang Y, Cai S, Zhu Y, Jin S, Ding C. Suppression of obesity by melatonin through increasing energy expenditure and accelerating lipolysis in mice fed a high-fat diet. Nutr Diabetes. 2022;12(1):42. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41387-022-00222-2

Yanko R, Levashov M, Chaka OG. L-tryptophan effectively prevents fatty degeneration of rat pancreas. Fiziol. Zh. 2024;70(2):43–50. http://doi.org/10.15407/fz70.02.043

Chaka OG, Nosar VІ, Zinchenko АS, Yanko RV, Levashov МІ. Effect of L-tryptophan on the bone biophysical properties and oxygen consumption in rats with diet-induced obesity.

Fiziol Zh. 2022;68(6):60–7. http://doi.org/10.15407/fz68.06.060

Shipelin VA, Trusov NV, Apryatin SA, Shumakova AA, Balakina AS, Riger NA, Gmoshinski IV, Nikityuk DB. Effects of Tyrosine and Tryptophan in Rats with Diet-Induced Obesity. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(5):2429. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052429

Muir LA, Neeley CK, Meyer KA, Baker NA, Brosius AM, Washabaugh AR, Varban OA, Finks JF, Zamarron BF, Flesher CG, Chang JS, DelProposto JB, Geletka L, Martinez-Santibanez G, Kaciroti N, Lumeng CN, O'Rourke RW. Adipose tissue fibrosis, hypertrophy, and hyperplasia: Correlations with diabetes in human obesity. Obesity. 2016;24(3):597–605. http://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21377

Crewe C, An YA, Scherer PE. The ominous triad of adipose tissue dysfunction: inflammation, fibrosis, and impaired angiogenesis. J Clin Invest. 2017;127(1):74–82. http://doi.org/10.1172/JCI88883

Yang ZH, Chen FZ, Zhang YX, Ou MY, Tan PC, Xu XW, Li QF, Zhou SB. Therapeutic targeting of white adipose tissue metabolic dysfunction in obesity: mechanisms and opportunities. MedComm. 2024;5(6):e560. https://doi.org/10.1002/mco2.560

Yanko RV, Zinchenko AS, Chaka OG, Levashov MI. Method of modeling alimentary fatty liver disease in laboratory rats. Ukraine patent No. 150511. 2022 Feb 23. [Ukraine].

Suvarna KS, Layton C, Bancroft JD. Bancroft's theory and practice of histological techniques. 8th ed. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2015-0-00143-5

Miljkovic D, Drijaca J, Loverenski A, Gajic M. A comprehensive morphometric study of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue depots in mice, hamsters and rats. Int J Morphol. 2022; 40(5):1219–27. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022022000501219

Yanko R, Chaka E, Safonov S, Levashov M. Effect of L-Tryptophan on the morpho-functional changes of white adipose tissue an induced visceral obesity rat model. Pol J Natural Sc. 2023; 38(1):89–101. http://doi.org/10.31648/pjns.8689

Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Manuel Gómez J, Lilienthal Heitmann B, Kent-Smith L, Melchior JC, Pirlich M, Scharfetter H, M W J Schols A, Pichard C; ESPEN. Bioelectrical impedance analysis - part I: review of principles and methods. Clin Nutr. 2004; 23(5):1226–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.06.004

Abasi S, Aggas JR, Garayar-Leyva GG, Walther BK, Guiseppi-Elie A. Bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy for monitoring mammalian cells and tissues under different frequency domains: A review. Amer. Chem. Soc. Meas. Sci. 2022; 2(6):495–516. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.2c00033

Contreras F, Al-Najim W, le Roux CW. Health benefits beyond the scale: The role of diet and nutrition during weight loss programmes. Nutrients. 2024;16(21):3585. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16213585

Bentsa T. The dietary treatment of obesity. Int J Endocrinol. 2023;19(5):376–82. https://doi.org/10.22141/2224-0721.19.5.2023.1302

Engin A. Adipose tissue hypoxia in obesity: Clinical reappraisal of hypoxia hypothesis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024;1460:329–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63657-8_11

Sun K, Tordjman J, Clément K, Scherer PE. Fibrosis and adipose tissue dysfunction. Cell Metab. 2013;18(4):470–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2013.06.016

Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Manuel Gómez J, Lilienthal Heitmann B, Kent-Smith L, Melchior JC, Pirlich M, Scharfetter H, M W J Schols A, Pichard C; ESPEN. Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. Clin Nutr. 2004;23(6):1430–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2004.09.012

Ohmine Y, Morimoto T, Kinouchi Y, Iritani T, Takeuchi M, Haku M, Nishitani H. Basic study of new diagnostic modality according to noninvasive measurement of the electrical conductivity of tissues. J Med Invest. 2004;51:218–25. https://doi.org/10.2152/jmi.51.218

Dapsance F, Hou J, Dufour D, Boccara C, Briand N, Martinsen ØG. Adipose tissue characterization with electrical impedance spectroscopy and machine. IEEE Sens Lett. 2023;7(10):6007104. https://doi.org/10.1109/LSENS.2023.3317921

Nasmi K, Rosandi VA, Umar L. Analysis of chicken fat quality using bioelectric impedance method. JPhys Conf Ser. 2022;2377:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2377/1/012019

Sivaprakasam S, Ramachandran S, Sikder MOF, Bhutia YD, Wachtel MW, Ganapathy V. α-Methyl-l-tryptophan as a weight-loss agent in multiple models of obesity in mice. Biochem J. 2021;478(7):1347–58. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20210100

Goodarzi P, Habibi M, Roberts K, Sutton J, Shili CN, Lin D, Pezeshki A. Dietary tryptophan supplementation alters fat and glucose metabolism in a low-birthweight piglet model. Nutrients. 2021;13(8):2561. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082561

Lee J, Jang HR, Lee D, Lee Y, Lee HY. Gut bacteria-derived tryptamine ameliorates diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(3):1327. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26031327

Engin AB, Engin A. Tryptophan metabolism in obesity: The indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 activity and therapeutic options. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024;1460:629–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-63657-8_21

Shong KE, Oh CM, Namkung J, Park S, Kim H. Serotonin regulates de novo lipogenesis in adipose tissues through serotonin receptor 2A. Endocrinol Metab. 2020;35(2):470–9. https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2020.35.2.470

Downloads

Published

2025-12-17

How to Cite

1.
Yanko R, Levashov M. Tryptophan enhances diet-induced improvement of white adipose tissue in obese rats. Arch Biol Sci [Internet]. 2025Dec.17 [cited 2026Jan.1];77(4):323-31. Available from: https://www.serbiosoc.org.rs/arch/index.php/abs/article/view/11486

Issue

Section

Articles