Effects of Imperatorin on Serum Biochemical Parameters and Liver of Mice with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induced by Methionine and Choline Deficient High-Fat Diet
The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of imperatorin(IMP)on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)induced by methionine and choline deficient high-fat diet(MCD-HFD)in mice.Fifty 9-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups with 10 mice in each group.Mice in MCS-LFD group(control group)fed with methionine and choline sufficient low-fat diet(MCS-LFD),and those in MCD-HFD group(model group),MCD-HFD+IMP25 group,MCD-HFD+IMP50 group and MCD-HFD+IMP100 group fed with MCD-HFD for 8 weeks.Mice in all groups were treated by gavage after 4 weeks of feeding for 4 consecutive weeks.Mice in MCD-HFD+IMP25 group,MCD-HFD+IMP50 group and MCD-HFD+IMP100 group were treated by gavage with 25,50 and 100 mg/(kg·d)IMP,respectively,and mice in MCS-LFD group and MCD-HFD group were treated by gavage with equal amount of saline.After 8 weeks,the mice were sacrificed,and the serum aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT)activities,triglyceride(TG)and total cholesterol(TC)contents were detected;hepatic steatosis and fibrosis were detected by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and Masson staining;liver wet weight was meas-ured and liver index was calculated;the protein expression level of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1A(CPT1 A)in the liver was detected by Western blot method.The results showed as follows:1)compared with the MCS-LFD group,the mice in the MCD-HFD group showed a significant reduction in body weight and weight gain(P<0.05);the liver wet weight(P<0.05),liver index(P<0.01),serum AST and ALT activi-ties(P<0.01),serum TG and TC content(P<0.01)of the MCD-HFD group were significantly or extremely significantly increased;the protein expression level of CPT1A in the liver of the MCD-HFD group was ex-tremely significantly decreased(P<0.01).2)The results of sections showed that compared with the MCS-LFD group,the MCD-HFD group had disordered arrangement of hepatocytes,ballooning degeneration,many fatty vacuoles,and fibrosis around hepatocytes.3)Compared with the MCD-HFD group,the body weight and weight gain of the MCD-HFD+IMP50 group were significantly increased(P<0.05);the liver wet weight(P<0.05),liver index(P<0.01),serum AST and ALT activities(P<0.01),serum TG and TC contents(P<0.05)of the MCD-HFD+IMP50 group were significantly or extremely significantly decreased;the protein ex-pression level of CPT1A in the liver of the MCD-HFD+IMP50 group was significantly increased(P<0.05).4)Compared with the MCD-HFD group,the body weight of the MCD-HFD+IMP100 group did not change significantly(P>0.05);the liver wet weight,liver index,serum AST and ALT activities,serum TG and TC contents were extremely significantly decreased(P<0.01).5)Compared with the MCD-HFD group,IMP treatment reduced the number of vacuoles in the liver and improved the degree of hepatocyte ballooning degen-eration and fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner.In conclusion,IMP can alleviate liver injury caused by MCD-HFD,improve fat metabolism in the body,relieve lipid deposition,and have a protective effect on the liver.[Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition,2024,36(9):6027-6037]