Institute of Research for Food Safety & Health, Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
San Raffaele IRCCS, 00199 Rome, Italy.
Nutrients. 2020 May 15;12(5):1435. doi: 10.3390/nu12051435.
and insulin-resistance are often associated with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) thereby representing a true issue worldwide due to increased risk of developing cardiovascular and systemic disorders. Although clear evidence suggests that circulating fatty acids contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms underlying NAFLD and hyperlipidemia, further studies are required to better identify potential beneficial approaches for counteracting such a disease. Recently, several artichoke extracts have been used for both reducing hyperlipidemia, insulin-resistance and NAFLD, though the mechanism is unclear. Here we used a wild type of Cynara Cardunculus extract (CyC), rich in sesquiterpens and antioxidant active ingredients, in rats fed a High Fat Diet (HFD) compared to a Normal Fat Diet (NFD). In particular, in rats fed HFD for four consecutive weeks, we found a significant increase of serum cholesterol, triglyceride and serum glucose. This effect was accompanied by increased body weight and by histopathological features of liver steatosis. The alterations of metabolic parameters found in HFDs were antagonised dose-dependently by daily oral supplementation of rats with CyC 10 and 20 mg/kg over four weeks, an effect associated to significant improvement of liver steatosis. The effect of CyC (20 mg/kg) was also associated to enhanced expression of both OCTN1 and OCTN2 carnitine-linked transporters. Thus, present data suggest a contribution of carnitine system in the protective effect of CyC in diet-induced hyperlipidemia, insulin-resistance and NAFLD.
胰岛素抵抗常与非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）相关，从而由于心血管和全身疾病风险增加而在全球范围内成为一个真正的问题。尽管有明确的证据表明循环脂肪酸有助于 NAFLD 和高脂血症的病理生理机制，但仍需要进一步的研究来更好地确定对抗这种疾病的潜在有益方法。最近，几种朝鲜蓟提取物已被用于降低高脂血症、胰岛素抵抗和 NAFLD，尽管其机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用富含倍半萜烯和抗氧化活性成分的野生型朝鲜蓟提取物（CyC），与正常脂肪饮食（NFD）相比，在高脂肪饮食（HFD）喂养的大鼠中进行研究。特别是，在连续四周用 HFD 喂养大鼠后，我们发现血清胆固醇、甘油三酯和血清葡萄糖显著增加。这种作用伴随着体重增加和肝脂肪变性的组织病理学特征。HFD 中发现的代谢参数的改变被 CyC 10 和 20 mg/kg 的每日口服补充以剂量依赖性的方式拮抗，这种作用与肝脂肪变性的显著改善相关。CyC（20 mg/kg）的作用还与肉碱连接转运体 OCTN1 和 OCTN2 的表达增强相关。因此，目前的数据表明，肉碱系统在 CyC 对饮食诱导的高脂血症、胰岛素抵抗和 NAFLD 的保护作用中发挥了作用。
