Yunpi Qushi Jiangzhuo Recipe Alleviates Lipid Deposition and Reduces Liver Damage in Mice with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial liver metabolic disease, which affects nearly a quarter of the world's population. Yunpi Qushi Jiangzhuo Recipe (QSJZR) is a traditional Chinese medicine compound, which is composed of Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep, Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Roman.) Stapf, Prunus armeniaca L.var.ansu Maxim, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge, Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, Alisma plantago-aquatica Linn, Polyporus umbellatus (Pers.) Fries, Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, and Artemisia capillaris Thunb. QSJZR has a certain therapeutic effect on NAFLD patients, but its specific mechanism is not clear.

Objective

To investigate the effect of QSJZR on high-fat diet (HFD)-fed NAFLD mice and its mechanism.

Methods

Twenty-four SPF female C57BL/6 J mice (21.0 ± 0.5 g) were randomly divided into normal diet (ND) group, HFD group and QSJZR group. ND group was given basal diet, while the other two groups were given HFD. Meanwhile, each mouse in QSJZR group was given 0.2 mL/day (containing 2.27 g crude drug per mL) QSJZR, ND group and HFD group were given the same amount of normal saline for 13 consecutive weeks. Then, the serum was collected for biochemical assay, and the liver was removed for pathological examination and biochemical analysis.

Results

Body weight and white fat weight of the HFD-induced NAFLD mice significantly decreased after ministration with QSJZR, while liver weight had no significant change. QSJZR also significantly reduced liver and serum triglyceride levels, and alleviated hepatocyte lipid deposition by regulating genes and proteins expression related to lipid metabolism, including AMPK, SREBP1C, CPT1A and ACC. In addition, compared with HFD group, liver malondialdehyde (MDA) content was lower in QSJZR group, while glutathione peroxidase (GPx) content was higher. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were lower in QSJZR group than those in HFD group. Treatment with QSJZR significantly alleviated liver injury by increasing BCL2/BAX protein ratio and down-regulating ASK1/JNK pathway.

Conclusion

Administration of QSJZR to NAFLD mice once daily for 13 weeks can decrease lipid levels, and alleviate liver damage. These results suggest that QSJZR might be used to treat NAFLD, although more studies need to be conducted for further verification.