The Effects of Traditional Asian Diet on Metabolism, Gut Microbiota, and Liver Tissue in NASH Rats

Abstract

Traditional Asian Diets (AD) in rural areas have a significant risk of mortality due to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aims to determine the relationship between AD and liver cancer cases using rat experimental animals Rattus norvegicus strain Wistar. The measured variables include metabolic parameters, gut microbiota profile, and liver histology. This study used 14 rats in two groups: Chow Diet (7 rats to CD) and AD (7 rats to AD), and were given the respective diets for 12 weeks. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods are used to analyze liver enzymes, lipid profiles, and blood sugar levels. The analysis of gut microbiota used variable region-specific 16S rRNA gene and V3-V4. Biopsy stained with Hematoxylin Eosin was used to study the histology of the liver. Moreover, it was analyzed utilizing NAS (NAFLD Activity Score). The result of this study indicated that reduce body weight the rats treated with AD significant different than treated with CD. Firmicutes, Lactobacillus reuteri, Prevotellaceae bacterium, Romboutsia ilealis, and Bacteroidota in AD greater than CD. Alzheimer's disease had notably higher levels of alkaline phosphatase compared to those diagnosed with Crohn's disease on individual diagnosis. Differences in total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, blood sugar, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides were not significant. The NAS analysis indicated that the two groups comprised rats lacking non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Despite the high caloric content of the Asian diet, it did not lead to significant changes in metabolic parameters and liver histology related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. This behavior can be ascribed to the advantageous influence of the gut microbiota.