Role of garlicin, vitamin C and vitamin B6 in preventing and treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mouse

Abstract

Objective To study the role of garlicin, vitamin C and vitamin B6 and the mechanism in preventing and treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mouse. Methods Eighteen C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the random number table: preventing group, treating group and control group with 6 mice in each group. In preventing group, the mice were fed with high fatty diet and were infused intragastrically with garlicin (0.02 mg/g), vitamin C (0.50 mg/g) and vitamin B6 (0.02 mg/g) by weight everyday at the same time for 4 weeks. In treating group, the mice were infused intragastrically with the above drugs for 1 week after 4 weeks of feeding with high fatty diet. In control group, the mice were fed with high fatty diet and were infused intragastrically with equivalent normal saline at the same time for 4 weeks. After processing, the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), free fatty acids (FFA), levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), content of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of iNOS, pathological changes and infiltration of Kupffer cells of liver tissues in 3 groups were observed. The differences of measurement data in 3 groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance and LSD-t test. Results The mean levels of serum ALT were (30±7), (34±7), (44±6) U/L in preventing group, treating group and control group respectively, which were significantly lower in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=3.815, 2.748; P<0.05). The levels of serum AST were (46±6), (43±8), (103±7) U/L in preventing group, treating group and control group respectively, which were significantly lower in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=12.400, 16.371; P<0.05). The levels of serum FFA were (196±10), (223±12), (254±31) mmol/L in preventing group, treating group and control group respectively, which were significantly lower in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=4.335, 2.271; P<0.05), and it was significantly lower in preventing group than that in treating group (LSD-t=4.154;P<0.05). The levels of serum SOD were (128±17), (119±30), (82±13) kU/L in preventing group, treating group and control group respectively, which were significantly higher in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=5.413, 2.850; P<0.05). The levels of serum MDA were (5.5±1.9), (5.7±1.9), (7.9±0.9)μmol/L in preventing group, treating group and control group respectively, which were significantly lower in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=2.818, 2.527; P<0.05). The expression of iNOS protein in liver tissues of mice in control group significantly increased, compared with that in preventing group and treating group. The mRNA contents of iNOS in liver tissues of mice were (3.6±0.5)×10-4, (3.3±0.5)×10-4, (7.5±0.3)×10-4, which were significantly lower in preventing group and treating group than that in control group (LSD-t=13.273, 13.976; P<0.05). Obvious fatty liver was observed in mice of control group, while it was milder in preventing group and treating group. The activated Kupffer cells in liver tissues significantly decreased in preventing group and treating group, compared with that in control group. Conclusions Combined use of garlicin, vitamin C and vitamin B6 is effective in preventing and treating NAFLD. The mechanism may be related with alleviating lipid peroxidation damage, enhancing the oxidation resistance of liver, suppressing cytoactive of Kupffer cells and decreasing the levels of serum FFA. Key words: Fatty liver; Garlic; Vitamins; Kupffer cells; Lipid peroxidation