Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) miq alleviates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via antioxidant activities in C57BL/6 obese mice and palmitic-oleic acid-induced steatosis in HepG2 cells
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent form of liver disease. Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq, a traditional plant in South Asia, has previously been shown to attenuate obesity and hyperglycaemic conditions. Eight weeks of feeding C57BL/6 mice with the standardized O. aristatus extract (400 mg/kg) inhibited the progression of NAFLD. Liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase were significantly reduced in treated mice by 74.2% +/- 7.69 and 52.8% +/- 7.83, respectively. Furthermore, the treated mice showed a reduction in serum levels of glucose (50% +/- 5.71), insulin (70.2% +/- 12.09), total cholesterol (27.5% +/- 15.93), triglycerides (63.2% +/- 16.5), low-density lipoprotein (62.5% +/- 4.93) and atherogenic risk index relative to the negative control. Histologically, O. aristatus reversed hepatic fat accumulation and reduced NAFLD severity. Notably, our results showed the antioxidant activity of O. aristatus via increased superoxide dismutase activity and a reduction of hepatic malondialdehyde levels. In addition, the levels of serum pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-6 and TNF alpha) decreased, indicating anti-inflammatory activity. The aqueous, hydroethanolic and ethanolic fractions of O. aristatus extract significantly reduced intracellular fat accumulation in HepG2 cells that were treated with palmitic-oleic acid. Together, these findings suggest that antioxidant activities are the primary mechanism of action of O. aristatus underlying the anti-NAFLD effects.
Keywords
Orthosiphon aristatus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Atherosclerosis, Medicinal plant, High-fat diet, Rosmarinic acid
Divisions
fac_med
Funders
None
Publication Title
Pharmaceuticals
Volume
16
Issue
1
Publisher
MDPI
Publisher Location
ST ALBAN-ANLAGE 66, CH-4052 BASEL, SWITZERLAND