Comparative study on the effects of different therapeutic methods in preventing and treating nonalcoholic fatty liver in rats

Abstract

To explore the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by comparing the therapeutic efficacy of methods for fortifying the spleen and replenishing qi, warming yang and fortifying the spleen and warming yang to move water. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal, model, Sijunzi Tang (SJZ), Lizhong Tang (LZ), Linggui Zhugan Tang (LGZG) and Shenzhuo Tang (SZ) groups. Rats in the normal group were fed with ordinary diet, while the rats in the other groups were fed with high fat diet including 88% ordinary food, 10% lard oil and 2% cholesterol. After four weeks of treatment, the weight of liver and epididymal fat was recorded respectively for calculating the indexes of liver (liver weight/body weight) and epididymal fat (weight of epididymal fat pads/body weight); the pathological changes in liver tissues were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining; the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triacylglycerol (TAG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and liver TAG concentration were analyzed by biochemical test. Body weight, liver and epididymal fat indexes and liver TAG level of rats all significantly increased in the model group as compared with the normal group (P<0.05). Hepatic fatty infiltration, TAG concentration and the levels of serum TAG and ALT were significantly decreased in the LGZG and SZ groups when compared to those in the model group (P<0.05). In addition, epididymal fat index and serum TC level also significantly decreased in the LGZG group as compared with the model group (P<0.05). However, there was no significant change in liver TAG concentration in LZ and model groups. Method of warming yang or moving water can promote the lipid metabolism. It may be an effective strategy in preventing and treating NAFL by treating with warming yang and moving water together.