Lycium barbarum polysaccharides therapeutically improve hepatic functions in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis rats and cellular steatosis model

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the possible therapeutic effects and active components of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on a high fat diet-induced NASH rat model. We induced NASH in a rat model by voluntary oral feeding with a high-fat diet ad libitum for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, 1 mg/kg LBP was orally administered for another 4 weeks with a high-fat diet. When compared with NASH rats treated for 12 weeks, therapeutic LBP treatment for 4 weeks during 12 weeks of NASH induction showed ameliorative effects on: (1) increased body and wet liver weights; (2) insulin resistance and glucose metabolic dysfunction; (3) elevated level of serum aminotransferases; (4) fat accumulation in the liver and increased serum free fatty acid (FFA) level; (5) hepatic fibrosis; (6) hepatic oxidative stress; (7) hepatic inflammatory response; and (8) hepatic apoptosis. These improvements were partially through the modulation of transcription factor NF-κB, MAPK pathways and the autophagic process. In a palmitate acid-induced rat hepatocyte steatosis cell–based model, we also demonstrated that l-arabinose and β-carotene partially accounted for the beneficial effects of LBP on the hepatocytes. In conclusion, LBP possesses a variety of hepato-protective properties which make it a potent supplementary therapeutic agent against NASH in future clinical trials.

Low Levels of Serum β-Carotene and β-Carotene/Retinol Ratio Are Associated with Histological Severity in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients

“…Apricot is a fruit that has a high content of carotenoids, mostly β-carotene, and its supplement alleviates oxidative stress and SS induced by carbon tetrachloride in mice [24]. The administration of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides has been shown to ameliorate he- patic SS, inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis in NASH mice [25].…”

Lycium barbarum polysaccharide attenuates high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis by up-regulating SIRT1 expression and deacetylase activity

“…Recent studies have suggested that LBP ameliorates dyslipidemia, promotes energy expenditure and reduces body weight, improving nonalcoholic steatohepatitis45. Our previous studies demonstrated that dysfunction of hepatic energy signalling induced by high-fat diet (HFD) represents a key mechanism for hepatic insulin resistance and lipid accumulation associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).…”

Characterization and comparison of polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum in China using saccharide mapping based on PACE and HPTLC

“…Therefore, L. barbarum has been widely cultivated in different regions of China such as Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Zhejiang, and Gansu. Generally, polysaccharides are considered as one of main bioactive components in the fruit of L. barbarum, which possess a range of biological activities (Amagase and Farnsworth, 2011;Jin, Huang, Zhao, & Shang, 2013;Lin, Wang, Chang, Inbaraj, & Chen, 2009;Potterat, 2010;Xiao et al, 2014). Indeed, the bioactivities of polysaccharides are closely correlated to their chemical structures such as compositional monosaccharides and glycosidic linkages (Hu, Cheong, Zhao, & Li, 2013;Li, Wu, Lv, & Zhao, 2013 Mongolia, and Gansu, have seldom been compared with those of L. barbarum produced in Ningxia (the officially authentic L. barbarum) due to the structural complicity and macromolecular masses of polysaccharides .…”