Oxymatrine ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α activation

Shi,Lijuan; Shi,Lei; Zhang,Hefang; Hu,Zhijuan; Wang,Chao; Zhang,Donghui; Song,Guangyao

doi:10.3892/mmr.2013.1512

Oxymatrine ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α activation

Authors:
- Lijuan Shi
- Lei Shi
- Hefang Zhang
- Zhijuan Hu
- Chao Wang
- Donghui Zhang
- Guangyao Song
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Affiliations: Department of Internal Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, P.R. China, Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical Vocational Technology College, Shijiazhuang 050026, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Research Centre, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, P.R. China
Published online on: June 6, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2013.1512
Pages: 439-445

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Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common type of liver disease worldwide. Recent studies have reported that oxymatrine (OMT), an active monomer isolated from Sophora flavescens Ait. (kushen), ameliorates NAFLD in rats. In order to explore the possible molecular mechanism involved, we used an NAFLD rat model with hyperlipidemia, which had been established by feeding a high‑fructose diet (HFD) for eight weeks, and the model rats were subsequently treated with OMT (80 mg/kg/day) for a further four weeks. We evaluated the expression of genes and proteins regulating fatty acid oxidation and lipid export in the liver using quantitative (q)PCR and western blot analysis. The NAFLD model rats developed dyslipidaemia, hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance (IR). OMT administration for four weeks reduced body weight gain and visceral fat weight, decreased serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), free fatty acid (FFA) and fasting serum insulin (FinS) levels and lowered liver TG contents. It also increased the glucose infusion rate (GIR), indicative of a reduction in IR. Moreover, OMT treatment markedly increased the mRNA and protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP). The beneficial effects of OMT were further confirmed by the observation of a decrease in lipid accumulation in the histology of the liver. Our results indicate that OMT may be used to treat NAFLD.

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