Ethanol extract of inhibits development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and is closely associated with metabolic syndrome. In the present study, we observed the effect of ethanol extract of (EAF) on NAFLD and have suggested the possibility of using EAF as a natural product for application in the development of a treatment for NAFLD.

MATERIALS/METHODS: The preventive effect on hepatic lipid accumulation was estimated by using an oleic acid (OA)-induced NAFLD model and a Western diet (high-fat high-sucrose; WD)-induced obese mouse model. Animals were divided into three groups (n = 7): normal diet group (ND), WD group, and WD plus 1% EAF group.

RESULTS

EAF reduced OA-stimulated lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells in the absence of cellular cytotoxicity and significantly blocked transcriptional activation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 and fatty acid synthase genes. Subsequently, we investigated these effects in mice fed either ND or WD in the presence or absence of EAF supplementation. In comparison to the ND controls, the WD-fed mice exhibited increases in body weight, liver weight, epididymal fat weight, and accumulation of fat in hepatocytes, and these effects were significantly attenuated by EAF supplementation.

CONCLUSIONS

attenuates the development of NAFLD, and EAF elicits anti-lipogenic activity in liver. Therefore, EAF represents a promising candidate for use in the development of novel therapeutic drugs or drug combinations for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.