Abstract
Hepatic glycolipid metabolism disorder is considered as one of the key factors in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effect and underlying mechanisms of Rhus chinensis Mill. fruits against hepatic glycolipid metabolic disorders in rats induced by a high fat/high sugar diet. Results showed that ethanol extract, especially at a dose of 600 mg/kg b.w., could effectively ameliorate glycolipid metabolic disorders in rats. The biochemical indexes, including CAT, GSH and HOMA-IR, were significantly improved by the administration of ethanol extract. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis revealed that ethanol extract up-regulated the expression levels of PI3K/AKT, PPAR-α, and the phosphorylation of IRS1 and AMPK proteins, and down-regulated the expressions of SREBP-1 and FAS proteins in the liver, which are closely related to hepatic glycolipid metabolism. Those findings suggested that R. chinensis Mill. fruits could be developed as functional foods and/or nutraceuticals for preventing or controlling some chronic diseases related to hepatic glycolipid metabolism disorder.
Highlights
Glycolipid metabolism, as an important biological energy supply of the human body, plays an important role in life activities
According to the results obtained in the present work (Figure 4), the ethanol extract from R. chinensis Mill. fruits may alleviate hepatic glycolipid metabolic disorders induced by high-fat and high-sugar diet (HFHSD) via regulation of the expressions of several key proteins involved in glycolipid metabolism (p-AMPK, peroxidase proliferative receptor-α (PPAR-α), sterol regulatory element-binding protein1 (SREBP-1), fatty acid synthase (FAS), p-insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/AKT) in the liver
Our results suggest that R. chinensis Mill. fruits may have the potential to prevent or control diseases related to glycolipid metabolism, such as obesity, diabetes, according to the results obtained in the present work (Figure 4), the ethanol extract from R. chinensis Mill. fruits may alleviate hepatic glycolipid metabolic disorders induced by HFHSD via regulation of the expressions of several key proteins involved in glycolipid metabolism (p-AMPK, PPAR-α, SREBP-1, FAS, phorylated insulin receptor substrate-1 (p-IRS1) and PI3K/AKT) in the liver
Summary
Glycolipid metabolism, as an important biological energy supply of the human body, plays an important role in life activities. The disorder of glycolipid metabolism will lead to a series of chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, fatty liver, hyperlipidemia, obesity, arteriosclerotic, and cardio-cerebrovascular disease [1]. Epidemiological studies showed that the global prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is about 25% [3]. Those chronic metabolic diseases impose a heavy burden on health care systems around world, and remarkably affect the life quality of patients [4,5]. Effectively preventing and/or ameliorating glycolipid metabolism disorder has become an important research direction [6]
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