Department of Pharmacy, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology.
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University.
J Oleo Sci. 2022;71(1):95-104. doi: 10.5650/jos.ess21228.
Pink lotus essential oil (PLEO) is the volatile components extracted from lotus flowers and there are few relevant research. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of PLEO on NAFLD in vitro model and its possible mechanism. The ingredients of PLEO were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS) and its lipid-lowering and hepatoprotective activities were investigated. HepG2 cells were treated with free fatty acid (FFA) to establish a cell model of NAFLD. Cell viability was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by Enzyme-Linked Immune Sorbent Assay (ELISA). Oil red O staining was performed to observe the lipid accumulation in the HepG2 cells. Lipid metabolism enzymes including fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl-coA carboxylase (ACC), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD-1), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1), insulin signaling pathways including phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B Akt, inflammatory signaling pathways such as nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), were determined by Western blotting. There were 46 components determined in PLEO with many terpenoids compounds. PLEO decreased TC and TG contents in the FFA-treated HepG2 cells. Furthermore, PLEO inhibited TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β excretion, decreased NF-κB, FAS, ACC and SCD-1 while increased phosphorylation of NF-κB, PI3K, Akt, and CPT-1 expression. It is the first time to reveal that PLEO alleviates FFA-induced steatosis in HepG2 cells by regulating lipid metabolism, inhibiting inflammatory response, and improving insulin sensitivity.
粉莲精油（PLEO）是从荷花中提取的挥发性成分，相关研究较少。本研究旨在观察 PLEO 对体外非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）模型的影响及其可能的机制。采用气相色谱-质谱联用（GS-MS）法测定 PLEO 的成分，并考察其降血脂和保肝活性。用游离脂肪酸（FFA）处理 HepG2 细胞建立 NAFLD 细胞模型。采用 3-（4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基）-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐（MTT）法评价细胞活力。采用酶联免疫吸附法（ELISA）测定总胆固醇（TC）、甘油三酯（TG）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素-6（IL-6）。油红 O 染色观察 HepG2 细胞内脂质堆积。采用 Western blot 法测定脂代谢酶包括脂肪酸合酶（FAS）、乙酰辅酶 A 羧化酶（ACC）、硬脂酰辅酶 A 去饱和酶 1（SCD-1）和肉毒碱棕榈酰转移酶-1（CPT-1），胰岛素信号通路包括磷酸肌醇 3 激酶（PI3K）和蛋白激酶 B Akt，炎症信号通路如核因子 κB（NF-κB）。PLEO 中鉴定出 46 种成分，其中含有许多萜类化合物。PLEO 降低了 FFA 处理的 HepG2 细胞中 TC 和 TG 的含量。此外，PLEO 抑制 TNF-α、IL-6 和 IL-1β 的分泌，降低 NF-κB、FAS、ACC 和 SCD-1 的表达，同时增加 NF-κB、PI3K、Akt 和 CPT-1 的磷酸化。这是首次报道 PLEO 通过调节脂代谢、抑制炎症反应和改善胰岛素敏感性来缓解 FFA 诱导的 HepG2 细胞脂肪变性。
