Alleviating the effect of quinoa and the underlying mechanism on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed rats

Abstract

Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome and has attracted widespread attention due to its increased prevalence. Daily dietary management is an effective strategy for the prevention of NAFLD. Quinoa, a nutritious pseudocereal, is abundant in antioxidative bioactive phytochemicals. In the present study, the effects of different amounts of quinoa on the progression of NAFLD and the related molecular mechanism were investigated. Methods Male SD rats were simultaneously administered a high fat diet (HF) and different amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/day and 300 g/day of human intake, respectively). After 12 weeks of the intervention, hepatic TG (triglyceride) and TC (total cholesterol) as well as serum antioxidative parameters were determined, and hematoxylin–eosin staining (H&E) staining was used to evaluate hepatic steatosis. Differential metabolites in serum and hepatic tissue were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MSE. The mRNA expression profile was investigated using RNA-Seq and further verified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Low amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/d of human intake) effectively controlled the weight of rats fed a high-fat diet. In addition, quinoa effectively inhibited the increase in hepatic TG and TC levels, mitigated pathological injury, promoted the increase in SOD and GSH-Px activities, and decreased MDA levels. Nontarget metabolic profile analysis showed that quinoa regulated lipid metabolites in the circulation system and liver such as LysoPC and PC. RNA-Seq and RT-PCR verification revealed that a high amount of quinoa more effectively upregulated genes related to lipid metabolism [Apoa (apolipoprotein)5, Apoa4, Apoc2] and downregulated genes related to the immune response [lrf (interferon regulatory factor)5, Tlr6 (Toll-like receptor), Tlr10, Tlr11, Tlr12]. Conclusion Quinoa effectively prevented NAFLD by controlling body weight, mitigating oxidative stress, and regulating the lipid metabolic profile and the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism and the immune response.

An Egg White-Derived Peptide Enhances Systemic Insulin Sensitivity and Modulates Markers of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese, Insulin Resistant Mice

“…The observed improvement in liver morphology was independent of hepatic TG content, which was not significantly different between PEP2 and HFD groups, but a decrease in cholesterol content was seen between HFD and PEP2 groups, similar to Song et al [ 36 ], who reports a reduction of the hepatic total cholesterol content after quinoa supplementation but no difference between HFD and quinoa supplemented groups in terms of hepatic TG [ 36 ] and attributes the improvement in NAFLD in part to changes in hepatic phospholipids, such as increased lysophosphatidylcholine and pantothenic acid, and decreased phosphatidylcholine and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine [ 36 ]. Indeed, impairment of cholesterol metabolism may be the key driver to large LD formation, rather than TG metabolism [ 20 ].…”

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) supplemented cafeteria diet ameliorates glucose intolerance in rats

“…Additionally, impaired insulin sensitivity is associated with dysfunction of the pancreas islets (Sampey et al, 2011) and slightly hypertrophic and disfigured pancreatic islets with dramatically distorted architecture in cafeteria-fed rats were shown (Sampey et al, 2011). An inverse relationship between quinoa supplementation and body weight gain has been reported previously, in studies using high-fat diets as an obesity model (Cao et al, 2020;Song et al, 2021). Our results showed similar effects as CAFQ displayed an attenuated body weight in comparison with CAF.…”

“…A number of animal studies have verified the hepatoprotective potential of adding quinoa to energy‐dense diets (Ng & Wang, 2021 ) by reducing hepatic lipid accumulation (An et al, 2021 ; Song et al, 2021 ). Also, lower levels of lipid aggregation in the liver (Noratto et al, 2019 ), decreased hepatic fat (Gewehr et al, 2016 ) protected liver tissue structure (Obaroakpo et al, 2020 ) were reported in rodents due to quinoa (Noratto et al, 2019 ), quinoa flakes (Gewehr et al, 2016 ), or sprouted quinoa yoghurt (Obaroakpo et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Concordant with previous studies, our study found that quinoa intervention alleviated CAF‐induced microvesicular steatosis and hepatocyte degeneration. The underlying mechanisms may be reduced hyperglycemia (Lopes et al, 2019 ), altered hepatic lipid metabolism genes (Song et al, 2021 ), anti‐inflammatory (Ng & Wang, 2021 ) and anti‐oxidant activities attributed to its abundant phytochemicals (saponins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids) (An et al, 2021 ; Song et al, 2021 ), lower blood cholesterol, and LDL‐C attributed to tocopherol and unsaturated fatty acid content (Gewehr et al, 2016 ). Additionally, it was suggested that quinoa's protein fraction inhibited reabsorption of bile acids in the small intestine and controlled cholesterol synthesis by suppressing of expression of hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase (Takao et al, 2005 ), its fiber content inhibited the absorption of dietary cholesterol (Noratto et al, 2019 ) and saponins in quinoa can inhibit pancreatic lipase which may lead to reduced cholesterol absorption (Navarro Del Hierro et al, 2021 ).…”

Nutritional Effects of Adding Quinoa to Bread: A Systematic Review

“…In this regard, Song et al administered different amounts of quinoa in a high-fat diet to rats to assess their effects on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. They concluded that both lower and higher quantities of quinoa could effectively regulate the lipid profile, control the body weight, and mitigate oxidative stress; besides, a high quantity of quinoa upregulated genes related to lipid metabolism (32). Moreover, in a study by Li et al , after four weeks of quinoa bread consumption, the level of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was found to be significantly lower than the baseline; however, there was no significant difference between the quinoa and control groups (15).…”