Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Attenuates Fat Accumulation in Obese Mice Fed with a High-Fat Diet, Daphnia magna Supplied with a High Amount of Food, and 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Obesity is a significant public health issue. Supplementation with pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) may help prevent obesity by suppressing body fat accumulation. In the current study, we examined the effect of dietary PQQ on the inhibition of fat accumulation in obese mice, Daphnia magna, and adipocyte cells. PQQ significantly attenuated the total body fat and visceral fat volume in the abdominal region of mice. In Daphnia, body fat and body length increased with higher amounts of food; however, PQQ reduced body fat without affecting body growth. PQQ attenuated body fat accumulation under both high-fat and high-calorie consumption conditions. PQQ increased phosphorylation of LKB1 and AMPK, subsequently suppressing lipogenesis in adipocyte cell cultures. PQQ also promoted mitochondrial biogenesis by inducing the nuclear translocation of PGC1α in fat cells. Hence, dietary PQQ could prevent obesity by reducing body fat accumulation via suppressing lipogenesis and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis.