Topical menthol, a pharmacological cold mimic, induces cold sensitivity, adaptive thermogenesis and brown adipose tissue activation in mice

Abstract

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis has profound energy-expanding potential, which makes it an attractive target tissue to combat ever-increasing obesity and its other associated metabolic complications. Although it is fairly accepted that cold is a potent inducer of BAT activation and function, there are limited studies on the mechanisms of pharmacological cold-mimicking agents, such as the TRPM8 agonist, menthol, on BAT thermogenesis and activation.