ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Taurine Attenuates Lipid Accumulation via the eCB-CB1 Axis: Evidence from Adipose Metabolomics in HFD-fed Mice and 3D Adipocyte Spheroids
Qingjie Wu 1,2
Yuxin Shao 2,1
Lin Zhu 2,1
Xinzhe Guo 2,1
Shengquan Mi 2,1
Yanzhen Zhang 2,1
Ping Chang 2
Changying Xie 2
Junxia Guo 2,1
1. Beijing Union University, Beijing, China
2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functional Food, Beijing Union University, Beijing, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Introduction: Obesity, driven by adipose tissue dysfunction, is a major global health challenge and a key contributor to metabolic disorders. Although taurine shows anti-obesity potential, its precise mechanisms for attenuating adipocyte lipid accumulation remain unclear. Methods: In this study, high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice were treated orally with taurine (700 mg/kg/day) for 14 weeks. Systemic obesity-related parameters were evaluated, with a focus on epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT). UPLC-MS-based metabolomics combined with multivariate analysis was employed to characterize metabolic alterations in eWAT. Additionally, 3T3-L1 adipocyte spheroids were treated with taurine (0–0.5 mM), either alone or in combination with the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) agonist CP55940 or antagonist AM6545, to assess its effects on lipid accumulation and underlying mechanisms. Results: Focusing on adipose tissue, taurine treatment effectively countered HFD-induced metabolic disturbances, particularly by suppressing epididymal fat mass accumulation and ameliorating adipocyte hypertrophy. Metabolomic profiling of eWAT revealed that taurine treatment reversed 15 out of 35 metabolic alterations, including the reduction of three anandamide (AEA) precursors, implying that taurine may alter endocannabinoid (eCB) biosynthesis by limiting precursor availability. Moreover, taurine suppressed lipid accumulation by inhibiting CB1 signaling, a mechanism supported by downregulation of lipogenic genes (including Srebf1, Acaca, Cd36, and Pparg) and upregulation of lipolytic genes (including Pnpla2, Lipe, and Ppargc1a). Conclusion: Collectively, our findings demonstrate that taurine exerts its anti-obesity effects partially via modulation of eCB-CB1 signaling, coordinately inhibiting lipogenesis and promoting lipolysis, thereby highlighting its therapeutic potential for obesity management.
Summary
Keywords
Cannabinoid receptor type 1, endocannabinoid, Lipid accumulation, Obesity, Taurine
Received
07 January 2026
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Wu, Shao, Zhu, Guo, Mi, Zhang, Chang, Xie and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Junxia Guo
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.