Moreno Franciele Neves, Campos-Shimada Lilian Brites, da Costa Silvio Claudio, Garcia Rosângela Fernandes, Cecchini Alessandra Lourenço, Natali Maria Raquel Marçal, Vitoriano Adriana de Souza, Ishii-Iwamoto Emy Luiza, Salgueiro-Pagadigorria Clairce Luzia
Laboratory of Biological Oxidations, Department of Biochemistry, University of Maringá, 87020900 Maringá, PR, Brazil.
Laboratory of Center of Natural Products, Department of Biochemistry, University of Maringá, 87020900 Maringá, PR, Brazil.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:212378. doi: 10.1155/2015/212378. Epub 2015 Apr 14.
Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) is a plant that has recently been used to treat the symptoms of menopause, by its actions on the central nervous system. However, little is known about its actions on disturbances in lipid metabolism and nonalcoholic fat liver disease (NAFLD), frequently associated with menopause. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats exhibit increased adiposity and NAFLD 13 weeks after ovary removal and were used as animal models of estrogen deficiency. The rats were treated with crude extract (CE) and a butanolic fraction of VAC (ButF) and displayed the beneficial effects of a reduction in the adiposity index and a complete reversion of NAFLD. NAFLD reversion was accompanied by a general improvement in the liver redox status. The activities of some antioxidant enzymes were restored and the mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide production was significantly reduced in animals treated with CE and the ButF. It can be concluded that the CE and ButF from Vitex agnus-castus were effective in preventing NAFLD and oxidative stress, which are frequent causes of abnormal liver functions in the postmenopausal period.
贞节树(VAC)是一种最近被用于治疗更年期症状的植物,它通过对中枢神经系统的作用来实现这一目的。然而,对于它在脂质代谢紊乱和非酒精性脂肪性肝病(NAFLD)方面的作用,人们了解甚少,而这些问题常常与更年期相关。卵巢切除(OVX)大鼠在卵巢切除13周后表现出肥胖增加和NAFLD,被用作雌激素缺乏的动物模型。这些大鼠用贞节树的粗提物(CE)和丁醇馏分(ButF)进行治疗,结果显示出有益效果,即肥胖指数降低,NAFLD完全逆转。NAFLD的逆转伴随着肝脏氧化还原状态的总体改善。在用CE和ButF治疗的动物中,一些抗氧化酶的活性得以恢复,线粒体过氧化氢的产生显著减少。可以得出结论,贞节树的CE和ButF在预防NAFLD和氧化应激方面是有效的,而NAFLD和氧化应激是绝经后期肝功能异常的常见原因。