Abstract
The effects of germacranolides isolated from Calea urticifolia on adipocytic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells were examined. These germacranolides inhibited adipogenesis at a concentration of 1.25–5 μM. But no inhibitory activity against cell proliferation and no nonspecific binding activity to protein were observed. These results indicate that these germacranolides are the specific inhibitors of preadipocyte differentiation.