Study on effects of Zhi Zi（Fructus gardeniae） on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the rat

• Published in: 中医杂志：英文版 2012, Vol.32 (1), p.82-86
• Main Author: 陈少东 李晶 周海虹 林曼婷 刘益华 张玉梅 赵正晓 李国辉 柳进
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 大鼠模型; 天冬氨酸转氨酶; 栀子; 游离脂肪酸; 肝疾病; 肿瘤坏死因子; 酒精性; 高脂肪
• ISSN: 0255-2922

OBJECTIVE：To investigate the effects of Zhi Zi（Fructus Gardeniae） on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease（NAFLD） induced by a high-fat diet in the rat.METHODS：A rat model of NAFLD was established using a high-fat diet.Twenty one rats were randomly divided into a normal group,a model group and a Zhi Zi treatment group,7 rats per group.Drinking water and the drug were intragastrically administrated for 5 weeks.Samples were then taken to observe pathological changes of the liver tissue（HE staining）;changes in the fat metabolism pathway e.g.triglyceride（TG） and free fatty acid（FFA） content;alterations in liver function,i.e.serum alanine aminotransferase（ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase（AST） activity;and differences in tumor necrosis factor α（TNF-α） and P-IkB protein expression in the liver tissue.RESULTS：Fatty degeneration and vacuole-like changes of different degrees occurred in hepatic cells of the model group.Markers for fat metabolism,serum ALT and AST activities,and expressionof TNF-α and P-IkB proteins in liver tissue significantly increased.Fat metabolism in the Zhi Zi group significantly reduced,as shown by a drop in marker levels.Serum ALT and AST activities,and expression of TNF-α,P-IkB proteins in liver tissue were also significantly decreased in this group.CONCLUSION：Zhi Zi has a very strong inhibitory action on lipidosis and inflammatory injury in the rat model of NAFLD.This mechanism may possibly be related to the inhibition of the free fatty acid metabolism pathway.