Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a hepatic ailment with a rapidly increasing incidence due to dietary hypernutrition and subsequent obesity. Fatty liver disease can lead to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even cancer, which is associated with various complications. Discovering effective natural materials and herbs can provide alternative and complementary medical treatments to current chemical pharmaceuticals. To develop an effective natural agent for NAFLD, we formulated a combination of four herb mixtures (KIOM2012H) and observed lipid-lowering efficacy. The inhibitory effects of KIOM2012H on free fatty acid-induced lipid accumulation, triglyceride contents, and gene expressions were analyzed in HepG2 cells. Using high fat diet-fed mice, body weight changes, gross liver appearances, hepatic triglyceride contents, and gene expressions were evaluated. KIOM2012H dose-dependently inhibited lipid accumulation and gene expressions involved in lipogenesis and related regulators. Experimental animals also showed a decrease in body weight changes and lipid-associated physiological parameters. This study shows that KIOM2012H has an alleviating effect on fatty acid and lipid accumulation, and therefore can be applied for development of new therapeutic pharmaceuticals for treatment of NAFLD using natural products and herbs.
Highlights
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease involving fat deposited in hepatocytes, and is becoming one of the worrisome diseases threatening human health, especially in developed countries, with accompanying obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic disease morbidity
More recent reports have indicated that the symptoms of fatty liver disease can be improved by Magnolia officinalis extract via suppression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), superoxide anion, and sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1c (SREBF1c) [20]
NAFLD is considered to be the most common liver disease in Western countries and is increasingly being diagnosed worldwide. It encompasses a wide spectrum of liver disease which includes variable degrees of simple steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis
Summary
NAFLD is the most common liver disease involving fat deposited in hepatocytes, and is becoming one of the worrisome diseases threatening human health, especially in developed countries, with accompanying obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic disease morbidity. The liver is a major internal organ and the principle regulator for maintaining metabolic homeostasis with nutritional materials like lipid and proteins. It is clinically diagnosed as a fatty liver if excessive fat is more than 5% of liver weight, and more advanced NAFLD can occur by any means in the absence of alcohol intake. We thoroughly reviewed literature from traditional medicine and selected four herbs Arctium lappa (burdock), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (licorice), Magnolia officinalis (magnolia), and Zingiber officinale (ginger), which have been frequently applied in prescription for treatment of the liver-related diseases and symptoms above. More recent reports have indicated that the symptoms of fatty liver disease can be improved by Magnolia officinalis extract via suppression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), superoxide. The results can be seen as evidence for the potential use of herbs in modern health care and application in complementary and alternative medicine as anti-NAFLD drugs
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