Preventive Effect of a Fraxinus Excelsior L Seeds/Fruits Extract on Hepatic Steatosis in Obese Type 2 Diabetic Mice

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver is recognized as one of harmful consequences of the metabolic syndrome and hepatocytes steatosis is well connected with loss of insulin sensitivity, impaired glucose tolerance and can lead to impaired fasting glucose and type2 diabetes mellitus. Fraxinus excelsior L. seed extract has been used as traditional folk medicine by Mediterranean population and Glucevia®, a natural extract of Fraxinus excelsior L. derived from seeds/fruits of the plant and standardized to 10% Nuzhenide and GI3, has been previously reported to regulate glucose homeostasis in healthy overweight people. Methods: The effect of seven-month administration of Glucevia® on liver parameters was investigated in a diabetic mouse strain (BKS ++Lepr db (db/db)). The severity of fatty change and grading of hepatic steatosis were determined by estimating the fat hepatocytes contain in animals fed with a control diet or with a control diet supplemented with 0.07 % (w/w) of the extract. Results: Glucevia® was shown to significantly reduce fatty liver in diabetics mice (-54%; p<0.05). A concomitant improvement in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels and in aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio were observed between groups (p<0.05). A significant decrease in insulin plasma level (-22%; p<0.05) was measured in Glucevia® group leading to an improvement of HOMA-IR between groups (p<0.001) while no significant change of fasting blood glucose was observed between group. Conclusion: The results observed supports the potential hepatoprotective function of Glucevia®, which seems to prevent fatty liver formation in type 2 diabetes mice model.