![]() chilense) is distributed in New Zealand (including Chatham Island) and South America, and although this species has good nutritional potential, it is mainly exploited for the extraction of agar-agar, a hydrocolloid. The edible Chilean red macroalgae Agarophyton chilense (formerly Gracilaria chilensis), commonly known as “pelillo”, has been used as a food and medicinal herb since pre-Hispanic times in Chile, as indicated by findings at the archaeological site of Monte Verde (~14,000 years ago). Thus, its nutraceutical value in humans warrants further investigation. These findings support the idea that Gracilex ® represents a good source of natural PPARγ ligands and antioxidants with the potential to mitigate metabolic disorders. Accordingly, Gracilex ® possesses antioxidant activity in vitro and increased antioxidant capacity in vivo in Caenorhabditis elegans. Gracilex ® is enriched in palmitic acid, arachidonic acid, oleic acid, and lipophilic antioxidants such as tocopherols and β-carotene. In a diet-induced obesity model of male mice, we showed that treatment with Gracilex ® improves insulin sensitivity by normalizing altered glucose and insulin parameters. We produced Agarophyton chilense oleoresin (Gracilex ®), which induces PPARγ activation without inducing adipocyte differentiation, similar to SPPARMs. ![]() ![]() Medical use of TZDs is limited due to undesired side effects, a problem that has triggered the search for selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARMs) without the TZD side effects. PPARγ is the molecular target of thiazolidinediones (TZDs), drugs used as insulin sensitizers to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Red seaweeds are enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids and eicosanoids, which are known natural ligands of the PPARγ nuclear receptor. The biomedical potential of the edible red seaweed Agarophyton chilense (formerly Gracilaria chilensis) has not been explored.
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