Umbelliferone supplementation attenuates alcohol‐induced hepatic steatosis by regulating PPARα‐ and SREBP‐1c pathway in rats (1116.2)

Abstract

Umbelliferone (UF) is a 7‐hydroxycoumarin obtained from plants and edible fruits and roots, which has several biological activities including, antitumor, antioxidant and antiangiogenic activity. This study investigated the effects of UF on alcoholic fatty liver and its underlying mechanism. Rats were fed a Lieber‐DeCarli liquid diet with 36% of calories as alcohol with or without UF (0.05 g/L) for 8 weeks. Normal rats were received isocaloric carbohydrate liquid diet. UF significantly improved alcohol‐induced loss of body weight and hepatic lipid accumulation and droplets as well as dyslipidemia. UF significantly suppressed the lipogenic gene expression (SREBP‐1c, CIDEA, FASN and PPARγ) and stimulated the lipolytic gene expression (PPARα, Acsl1, CPT‐1, ACOX and Acca1a) compared to the alcohol control group, which could lead to inhibit fatty acid synthase activity and stimulate CPT and fatty acid β‐oxidation activities in the liver of chronic alcohol‐fed rats. These results indicated that UF attenuated alcoholic steatosis by down‐regulation of SREBP‐1c‐mediated lipogenesis and up‐regulating of PPARα‐medicated lipolysis. Therefore, UF may provide a promising natural therapeutic strategy against alcoholic fatty liver.Grant Funding Source: Supported by Suncheon Research Center for Natural Medicines