College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, P. R. China.
Food Funct. 2015 May;6(5):1643-51. doi: 10.1039/c5fo00083a.
Ursolic acid (UA) is a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid compound, which is enriched with many herbs and plants, such as apple, cranberry and olive. UA performs multiple biological activities including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer and hepatoprotection. However, the exact mechanism underlying the hepatoprotective activity of UA remains unclear. In this study, the effects of UA on the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were investigated. In vivo, UA treatment (0.14%, w/w) significantly decreased the liver weight, serum levels of ALT/AST and hepatic steatosis in db/db mice (a type 2 diabetic mouse model). In vitro, UA treatment (10-30 μg ml(-1)) significantly decreased palmitic acid induced intracellular lipid accumulation in L02 cells. Our results suggested that the beneficial effects of UA on NAFLD may be due to its ability to increase lipid β-oxidation and to inhibit the hepatic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Together, UA may be further considered as a natural compound for NAFLD treatment.
熊果酸（UA）是一种天然的五环三萜化合物，富含于多种草药和植物中，如苹果、蔓越莓和橄榄。UA 具有多种生物学活性，包括抗氧化、抗炎、抗癌和保肝。然而，UA 发挥保肝作用的确切机制尚不清楚。本研究探讨了 UA 对非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）发展的影响。在体内，UA 处理（0.14%，w/w）显著降低了 db/db 小鼠（2 型糖尿病小鼠模型）的肝重、血清 ALT/AST 水平和肝脂肪变性。在体外，UA 处理（10-30μg/ml）显著降低了棕榈酸诱导的 L02 细胞内脂质堆积。我们的结果表明，UA 对 NAFLD 的有益作用可能与其增加脂质β氧化和抑制肝内质网（ER）应激的能力有关。总之，UA 可进一步被视为治疗 NAFLD 的天然化合物。
