Effect of high-fat diet on the intestinal short-chain fatty acids in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease rats

Abstract

Objective To observe the changes of blood lipid and intestinal short-chain fatty acids in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by high-fat diet, and to explore the role of intestinal short-chain fatty acids in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Methods Male SD rats (n=12) were randomly divided into control group and high-fat group according to the random number table. The control group was fed with normal diet, while the high-fat group was fed with high-fat diet. The rats were sacrificed at the end of eighth week after experiment. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of the liver in the two groups, the changes in serum lipid profile were measured, and the changes of the contents of feces short-chain fatty acids in the two groups of rats were determined by gas chromatography. Results The levels of serum alanine transaminase [(139.6±17.29)U/L vs.(37.67±5.28)U/L], aspartate transaminase [(367±49.36)U/L vs.(97.67±13.92)U/L], triglyceride [(0.83±0.08)mmol/L vs.(0.60±0.04)mmol/L], total cholesterol [(6.34±0.53)mmol/L vs.(1.77±0.29)mmol/L], and very-low-density lipoprotein [(0.31±0.03)mmol/L vs.(0.22±0.01)mmol/L] in the high-fat group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid and total short-chain fatty acids in the high-fat group were significantly lower [(0.16±0.03)ng/μl vs.(0.21±0.04)ng/μl; (0.05±0.01)ng/μl vs.(0.08±0.01)ng/μl; (0.25±0.05)ng/μl vs.(0.33±0.05)ng/μl; all P<0.05). Conclusions The level of intestinal short-chain fatty acids is reduced in the NAFLD rats induced by high-fat diet. Monitoring of feces short-chain fatty acids may play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD. Key words: High-fat diet; Non-alcoholic fatty liver; Short-chain fatty acid