Abstract
Estrogen is involved in lipid metabolism. Menopausal women with low estrogen secretion usually gain weight and develop steatosis associated with abnormal lipid metabolism. A previous study showed that blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) extract (BCE) had phytoestrogen activity. In this study, we examined whether BCE improved lipid metabolism abnormalities and reduced liver steatosis in ovariectomized rats, as a menopausal animal model. Twelve-week-old ovariectomized (OVX) rats were fed a regular diet (Ctrl) or a 3% BCE supplemented diet while sham rats were fed a regular diet for three months. Body weight, visceral fat weight, levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol decreased in the BCE-treated OVX and sham rats, but not in OVX Ctrl rats. The results of hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that BCE decreased the diameters of adipocytes and the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR indicated a decreased expression of hepatitis-related genes, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in OVX rats after BCE treatment. This is the first study that reported improvement of lipid metabolism abnormalities in OVX rats by BCE administration. These results suggest that the intake of BCE alleviated dyslipidemia and prevented nonalcoholic steatohepatitis during menopause in this animal model.
Highlights
Estrogen is directly related to lipid metabolism
It has been known that blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) extract (BCE) has a phytoestrogen effect, but it is unknown whether it has an effect on menopausal lipid abnormalities
In this study, increased body weights, fat weights, and adipocyte diameters in OVX rats were reduced by the ingestion of BCE
Summary
Estrogen is directly related to lipid metabolism. Previous studies found that menopausal women and mice with decreased estrogen secretion experience an increase in weight and symptoms of menopause, such as abnormal lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis [1,2,3]. Total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) contents are increased [4], and these changes promote arteriosclerosis and adversely affect the heart and blood vessels [5,6]. Estrogen plays an important role in liver lipid metabolism, and its deficiency increases the risk of NAFLD and NASH with menopausal dyslipidemia [2,9]. Decreased estrogen secretion adversely affects menopausal women
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