Figure 4.

Effect of the AFE on (A) lipid accumulation and (B) ROS production in 3T3-L1 cells during adipogenesis. Accumulated lipids were stained with Oil Red O reagent and the absorbance at 490 nm was measured. ROS production was assessed based on the formation of dark-blue formazan and determined by the nitroblue tetrazolium assay at a wavelength of 570 nm. All values are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. ^*P<0.05 vs. CON; ^#P<0.05 vs. 100 μg/ml AFE, according to one-way analysis of variance. Groups: CON, control cells that were differentiated with MDI; NAC, positive control cells that were differentiated with MDI in the presence of NAC. AFE, 70% ethanolic extract of Alnus firma; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; NAC, N-acetyl-L-cysteine; ROS, reactive oxygen species; MDI, hormone cocktail of isobutyl methylxanthine, dexamethasone and insulin.