Browning of white adipocyte tissue (WAT) has received considerable attention due to its potential implication in preventing obesity and related comorbidities. Ginsenoside Rb1 is reported to improve glycolipid metabolism and reduce body weight in obese animals. However whether the body reducing effect mediates by browning effect remains unclear. For this purpose, 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used to study the effect of ginsenoside Rb1 on browning adipocytes specific genes and oxygen consumptions. The results demonstrate that 10 mu M of ginsenoside Rb1 increases basal glucose uptake and promoted browning evidenced by significant increases in mRNA expressions of UCP-1, PGC-1 alpha and PRDM16 in 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes. Further, ginsenoside Rb1 also increases PPAR gamma activity. And the browning effect is abrogated by GW9692, a PPAR gamma antagonist. In addition, ginsenoside Rb1 increases basal respiration rate, ATP production and uncoupling capacity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Those effects are also blunted by GW9692. The results suggest that ginsenoside Rb1 promote browning of 3T3-L1 adipocytes through induction of PPAR gamma. Our finding offer a new source to discover browning agonists and also useful to understand and extend the applications of ginseng and its constituents. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.