Therapeutic effects of açaí seed extract on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-induced obesity in male mice: a comparative effect with rosuvastatin

Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) Seed Oil and Its Nanoemulsion: Chemical Characterisation, Toxicity Evaluation, Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities

This study explores a nanoemulsion formulated with açaí seed oil, known for its rich fatty acid composition and diverse biological activities. This study aimed to characterise a nanoemulsion formulated with açaí seed oil and explore its cytotoxic effects on HeLa and SiHa cervical cancer cell lines, alongside assessing its antioxidant and toxicity properties both in vitro and in vivo. Extracted from fruits sourced in Brazil, the oil underwent thorough chemical characterization using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting nanoemulsion was prepared and evaluated for stability, particle size, and antioxidant properties. The nanoemulsion exhibited translucency, fluidity, and stability post centrifugation and temperature tests, with a droplet size of 238.37, PDI -9.59, pH 7, and turbidity 0.267. In vitro assessments on cervical cancer cell lines revealed antitumour effects, including inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation. Toxicity tests conducted in cell cultures and female Swiss mice demonstrated no adverse effects of both açaí seed oil and nanoemulsion. Overall, açaí seed oil, particularly when formulated into a nanoemulsion, presents potential for cancer treatment due to its bioactive properties and safety profile.

Chinese herbal medicines: The modulator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease targeting oxidative stress

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Plants are a natural treasure trove; their secondary metabolites participate in several pharmacological processes, making them a crucial component in the synthesis of novel pharmaceuticals and serving as a reserve resource foundation in this process. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with the risk of progression to hepatitis and liver cancer. The "Treatise on Febrile Diseases," "Compendium of Materia Medica," and "Thousand Golden Prescriptions" have listed herbal remedies to treat liver diseases.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD owing to their efficacy and low side effects. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during NAFLD, and the impact and potential mechanism of ROS on the pathogenesis of NAFLD are discussed in this review. Furthermore, common foods and herbs that can be used to prevent NAFLD, as well as the structure-activity relationships and potential mechanisms, are discussed.

METHODS

Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI database, Google Scholar, and WanFang database were searched for natural products that have been used to treat or prevent NAFLD in the past five years. The primary search was performed using the following keywords in different combinations in full articles: NAFLD, herb, natural products, medicine, and ROS. More than 400 research papers and review articles were found and analyzed in this review.

RESULTS

By classifying and discussing the literature, we obtained 86 herbaceous plants, 28 of which were derived from food and 58 from Chinese herbal medicines. The mechanism of NAFLD was proposed through experimental studies on thirteen natural compounds (quercetin, hesperidin, rutin, curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, salvianolic acid B, paeoniflorin, ginsenoside Rg1, ursolic acid, berberine, honokiol, emodin). The occurrence and progression of NAFLD could be prevented by natural antioxidants through several pathways to prevent ROS accumulation and reduce hepatic cell injuries caused by excessive ROS.

CONCLUSION

This review summarizes the natural products and routinely used herbs (prescription) in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD. Firstly, the mechanisms by which natural products improve NAFLD through antioxidant pathways are elucidated. Secondly, the potential of traditional Chinese medicine theory in improving NAFLD is discussed, highlighting the safety of food-medicine homology and the broader clinical potential of multi-component formulations in improving NAFLD. Aiming to provide theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

The capsaicinoid nonivamide suppresses the inflammatory response and attenuates the progression of steatosis in a NAFLD-rat model

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is relatively associated with comorbidities in obesity and metabolic inflammation. Low-grade inflammation following the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD can promote the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) through particularly liver-resident immune cell recruitment and hepatic nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Therefore, inflammatory intervention may contribute to NASH reduction. Pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) or nonivamide is one of the pungent capsaicinoids of Capsicum species and has been found in chili peppers. Our previous study demonstrated that PAVA improved hepatic function, decreased oxidative stress and reduced apoptotic cell death but the insight role of PAVA on NAFLD is still unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism of PAVA in an NAFLD-rat model. Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed with normal diet or HFD for 16 weeks. Then high-fat rats were given vehicle or PAVA (1 mg/kg/day) for another 4 weeks. We found that PAVA alleviated hepatic inflammation associated with the reducing toll-like receptor 4/NF-κB pathway, showing significantly lower recruitment of cluster of differentiation 44. PAVA also maintained activity of insulin signaling pathway, and attenuated NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome formation. NAFLD progresses to NASH through transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), and also recovery to simple stage followed by PAVA suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. Therefore, our findings suggest that PAVA provides a novel therapeutic approach for NAFLD and slows the progression to NASH.

Atorvastatin Inhibits High-Fat Diet-Induced Lipid Metabolism Disorders in Rats by Inhibiting Bacteroides Reduction and Improving Metabolism

PURPOSE

The prevalence of hyperlipidemia and related illnesses is on its rise, and atorvastatin is the frequently used hypolipidemic agent. However, there is still uncertainty about the mechanisms, especially the relationship between the lipid-lowering effect, intestinal microbiome, and metabolic profiles. We aim to intensively explain the mechanism of the hypolipidemic effect of atorvastatin through multi-omics perspective of intestinal microbiome and metabolomics.

METHODS

Multi-omics methods play an increasingly important role in the analysis of intestinal triggers and evaluation of metabolic disorders such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. Therefore, we were prompted to explore intestinal triggers, underlying biomarkers, and potential intervention targets of atorvastatin in the treatment of dyslipidemia through multi-omics. To achieve this, SPF Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet or normal diet for 8 weeks. Atorvastatin was then administered to high-fat diet-fed rats.

RESULTS

By altering intestinal microbiome, a high-fat diet can affect feces and plasma metabolic profiles. Treatment with atorvastatin possibly increases the abundance of Bacteroides, thereby improving "propanoate metabolism" and "glycine, serine and threonine metabolism" in feces and plasma, and contributing to blood lipid reduction.

CONCLUSION

Our study elucidated the intestinal triggers and metabolites of high-fat diet-induced dyslipidemia from the perspective of intestinal microbiome and metabolomics. It equally identified potential intervention targets of atorvastatin. This further explains the mechanism of the hypolipidemic effect of atorvastatin from a multi-omics perspective.

Mitochondrial Targeting Therapeutics: Promising Role of Natural Products in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide, and its prevalence is still growing rapidly. However, the efficient therapies for this liver disease are still limited. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proven to be closely associated with NAFLD. The mitochondrial injury caused reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and oxidative stress can aggravate the hepatic lipid accumulation, inflammation, and fibrosis. which contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of NAFLD. Therefore, pharmacological therapies that target mitochondria could be a promising way for the NAFLD intervention. Recently, natural products targeting mitochondria have been extensively studied and have shown promising pharmacological activity. In this review, the recent research progress on therapeutic effects of natural-product-derived compounds that target mitochondria and combat NAFLD was summarized, aiming to provide new potential therapeutic lead compounds and reference for the innovative drug development and clinical treatment of NAFLD.

Açaí seed extract (ASE) rich in proanthocyanidins improves cardiovascular remodeling by increasing antioxidant response in obese high-fat diet-fed mice

Obesity is recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is an important contributor to cardiac mortality. Açaí seed extract (ASE), rich in proanthocyanidins, has been shown to have potential anti-obesity effects. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of ASE in cardiovascular remodeling associated with obesity and compare it with that of rosuvastatin. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat diet or a standard diet for 12 weeks. The ASE (300 mg/kg/day) and rosuvastatin (20 mg/kg/day) treatments started in the 8th week until the 12th week, totaling 4 weeks of treatment. Our data showed that treatment with ASE and rosuvastatin reduced body weight, ameliorated lipid profile, and improved cardiovascular remodeling. Treatment with ASE but not rosuvastatin reduced hyperglycemia and oxidative stress by reducing immunostaining of 8-isoprostane and increasing SOD-1 and GPx expression in HFD mice. ASE and rosuvastatin reduced NOX4 expression, increased SIRT-1 and Nrf2 expression and catalase and GPx activities, and improved vascular and cardiac remodeling in HFD mice. The therapeutic effect of ASE was similar to that of rosuvastatin in reducing dyslipidemia and cardiovascular remodeling but was superior in reducing oxidative damage and hyperglycemia, suggesting that ASE was a promising natural product for the treatment of cardiovascular alterations associated with obesity.

Açaí Reverses Adverse Cardiovascular Remodeling in Renovascular Hypertension: A Comparative Effect With Enalapril

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine if açai seed extract (ASE) could reverse pre-existing cardiovascular and renal injury in an experimental model of renovascular hypertension (2 kidney, 1 clip, 2K1C). Young male rats (Wistar) were used to obtain 2K1C and sham groups. Animals received the vehicle, ASE (200 mg/kg/d), or enalapril (30 mg/kg/d) in drinking water from the third to sixth week after surgery. We evaluated systolic blood pressure by tail plethysmography, vascular reactivity in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed (MAB), serum and urinary parameters, plasma inflammatory cytokines by ELISA, MAB expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and its active form peNOS by Western blot, plasma and MAB oxidative damage and antioxidant activity by spectrophotometry, and vascular and cardiac structural changes by histological analysis. ASE and enalapril reduced the systolic blood pressure, restored the endothelial and renal functions, and decreased the inflammatory cytokines and the oxidative stress in 2K1C rats. Furthermore, both treatments reduced vascular and cardiac remodeling. ASE substantially reduced cardiovascular remodeling and recovered endothelial dysfunction in 2K1C rats probably through its antihypertensive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory actions, supplying a natural resource for the treatment of renovascular hypertension.