Department of Traditional Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Traditional Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 May 23;254:112721. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112721. Epub 2020 Feb 29.
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) has many applications in folk medicine. Its oil is used traditionally to treat obesity and other metabolic disorders. The anti-hypercholesterolemic and antioxidant effects of this plant have been well documented, but the anti-inflammatory effects and its role on fatty acid oxidation and homeostasis of trace elements are not fully understood.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of different doses of oil and extract of safflower seed against fructose induced metabolic syndrome by investigating the homeostasis of trace elements, TNF-α, and fatty acids metabolism.
Eighty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into ten groups and treated daily for 16 weeks. At the end of the study, plasma levels of liver enzymes, lipid profiles, blood glucose, insulin and TNF-α were measured. The levels of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation were also measured along with the expression of CD36, fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (FAS), and Carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (CPT-1) beta genes in the liver.
The antioxidant enzymes activity significantly decreased and lipid peroxidation, lipid profiles, liver enzymes, and TNF-α significantly increased in fructose-induced metabolic syndrome compared to the control groups, as well as the level of some trace elements significantly changed (p < 0.05). Treatment with oil and safflower seed extract in a dose dependent manner could improve biochemical parameters in groups of metabolic syndrome treated with oil and extract compared to metabolic syndrome (p < 0.05). The results also showed that the expression of above mentioned genes significantly increased in groups of metabolic syndrome treated with oil and extract compared to control and metabolic syndrome groups (p < 0.05).
It can be concluded that safflower seed extract and its oil can improve fructose-induced metabolic syndrome through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, adjustment of homeostasis of trace elements, and enhancing the beta-oxidation capacity of the liver by increasing the expression of CD36, FAS, and CPT-1beta genes.
红花（Carthamus tinctorius）在民间医学中有许多应用。其油传统上用于治疗肥胖症和其他代谢紊乱。该植物的降胆固醇和抗氧化作用已有充分记录，但抗炎作用及其对脂肪酸氧化和微量元素内稳态的作用尚未完全了解。
本研究旨在评估不同剂量红花籽油和红花籽提取物对果糖诱导的代谢综合征的保护作用，方法是研究微量元素、TNF-α 和脂肪酸代谢的内稳态。
将 80 只成年雄性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠随机分为十组，每天治疗 16 周。在研究结束时，测量血浆中肝酶、血脂谱、血糖、胰岛素和 TNF-α 的水平。还测量了抗氧化酶和脂质过氧化水平，以及肝脏中 CD36、脂肪酸酰基辅酶 A 合成酶（FAS）和肉碱棕榈酰转移酶 I（CPT-1）β基因的表达。
与对照组相比，果糖诱导的代谢综合征中抗氧化酶活性显著降低，脂质过氧化、血脂谱、肝酶和 TNF-α显著升高，一些微量元素水平也显著改变（p<0.05）。与代谢综合征组相比，油和红花籽油提取物以剂量依赖的方式治疗代谢综合征组可以改善生化参数（p<0.05）。结果还表明，与对照组和代谢综合征组相比，油和提取物治疗的代谢综合征组上述基因的表达显著增加（p<0.05）。
可以得出结论，红花籽油和红花籽油提取物可以通过抗氧化和抗炎作用、微量元素内稳态的调节以及通过增加 CD36、FAS 和 CPT-1β 基因的表达来增强肝脏的β氧化能力，从而改善果糖诱导的代谢综合征。
