Cedrol, a major component of cedarwood oil, ameliorates high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice.

Excellent health-promoting effects of cedrol (CED), including anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, and antinociceptive effects, have been reported. The present study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of CED on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and the related metabolic syndrome, and to delineate the underlying mechanism. Ten-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed chow, HFD, or HFD supplemented with CED (0.2% w/w) for 19 weeks. Results demonstrated that CED effectively reduced HFD-induced body weight gain, decreased visceral fat pad weight, and significantly prevented adipocyte hypertrophy in mice. HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and gluconeogenesis were ameliorated by CED supplementation. 16S rRNA analysis revealed that CED did not change gut microbiota composition at the phylum and genus levels, indicating that CED may have limited effects on gut microbiota in HFD-fed mice. Further transcriptome analysis of epididymal white adipose tissue revealed reprogrammed RNA profiles by CED. These results demonstrate that incorporating CED in the diet can prevent HFD-induced obesity and related metabolic syndrome, and highlight that CED could be a promising dietary component for obesity therapeutic intervention. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.