Enhanced Anti-Inflammatory and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Improvement Effects of Bacillus subtilis-Fermented Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertner

In this study, we investigated the enhanced anti-inflammatory activity and the effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) of fermented Fagopyrum tataricum (F. tataricum) Gaertner extract (FFT) through in vitro analysis. We utilized high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the non-fermented F. tataricum Gaertner extract (NFT) and the marker components, rutin and quercetin in FFT, to confirm changes in composition due to fermentation. The anti-inflammatory activity of NFT and FFT was evaluated using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cell inflammation model. Simultaneously, the NAFLD improvement effects were measured by evaluating lipid accumulation and the expression of lipid synthesis regulators in free fatty acid (FFA)-induced HepG2 cells. HPLC analysis confirmed an increase in rutin content after the fermentation of F. tataricum Gaertner. Upon treatment with NFT and FFT at a concentration of 400 μg/mL, LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production values in RAW 264.7 cells were reduced to 16.12 μM and 2.09 μM, respectively, indicating enhanced significant inhibition (p < 0.05) of NO production through fermentation. FFT demonstrated the significant inhibition (p < 0.05) of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein, and inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression through the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. In FFA-induced HepG2 cells, FFT significant suppressed (p < 0.05) lipid accumulation and the expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-1c, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)α proteins, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) mRNA. The results of this study suggest the potential utilization of FFT as a material for improving NAFLD.