Obesity is a primary healthcare issue worldwide, and its prevalence is continuously increasing at an alarming rate. Enlarged adipocytes exacerbate glucose and lipid homeostasis, inducing dyslipidemia, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The mechanism of obesity is intimately associated with nutrient-sensing pathways, which regulate energy metabolism, cell growth, and proliferation through stimulating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), growth factors, and insulin pathways.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease principally provoked by impaired insulin signaling and insulin production discontinuation in severe cases. T2DM is associated with severe complications, including dyslipidemia and stroke. We need to focus on the concomitant rise of obesity and type 2 diabetes—obese diabetes. Obesity is an independent risk factor for developing T2DM; in fact, >90% of T2DM are overweight or obese. It is profoundly established that the pathological mechanism of obesity, particularly insulin resistance, expedites the development of T2DM.

The demand of consumers for functional foods and nutraceuticals is continually growing. Thus, our laboratory focus on evaluating functional bioactive compounds to prevent metabolic syndrome via state-of-art multi-omics analysis and molecular biology in vivo and in vitro.