Myricetin Ameliorates Liver Steatosis in Diabetic Obese Mice

Abstract

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which includes simple fatty liver (hepatic steatosis), non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis, and advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis in the absence of alcohol abuse, is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of myricetin against fatty liver in diabetic obese mice. Four‐week‐old male C57BL/KsJ‐db/db mice were fed AIN‐93G diet or a diet containing myricetin at 0.08% of the diet for 7 weeks after one week of adaptation. The animals were sacrificed after an overnight‐fast. Liver samples were homogenized in saline, and total lipids were extracted. Total lipids and triglycerides in the liver and serum alanine transaminase (ALT) activities were measured. Hepatic contents of total lipids and triglycerides were significantly lowered in the myricetin group compared with the control group (p<0.05). Consumption of myricetin also significantly reduced ALT activities compared with the control group, suggesting that myricetin can improve liver function. These results indicate that myricetin could exert protective effects against development of NAFLD in obese db/db mice. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIP) (No. 2012015763).