Puerariae Lobatae radix flavonoids and puerarin alleviate alcoholic liver injury in zebrafish by regulating alcohol and lipid metabolism

Zebrafish and Flavonoids: Adjuvants against Obesity

“…However, to assess fatty acid mobilization and its transportation, the lipophilic fluorophore BODIPY ® can be used [ 36 ]. Zebrafish are useful model organisms for in vivo testing, dedicated to preclinical tests; indeed, this approach allows the screening of large libraries of natural compounds including flavonoids for the treatment of obesity [ 37 , 38 ]. Drug screening is directly conducted on zebrafish larvae since they have the signal transduction pathways regulating lipid metabolism [ 39 ].…”

“…The above-mentioned factor shortage leads to the downregulation of late adipogenic factors, negatively regulating the m-TOR signaling pathway, involved in lipid accumulation during adipogenesis and decreased p-p38 MAPK and pERK levels in adipocytes [ 95 , 96 ]. Puerariae Lobatae radix flavonoids and puerarin successfully limited lipid accumulation in the abdomens of zebrafish larvae in a dose dependent manner [ 38 ].…”

“…Thus, quercetin inhibited TG accumulation by >40%, while curcumin, an antiadipogenic phytochemical, inhibited TG accumulation by ~25% [ 91 ]. Baicalein, kaempferol, and eriocitrin, flavonoids that have lately been reported, significantly suppressed the increase in TG in DIO-zebrafish [ 38 , 93 , 95 ].…”

“…Many flavonoids, previously studied for anti-obesity effects, have the ability to reduce cholesterol levels. Puerariae Lobatae radix flavonoids and puerarin significantly downregulated the elevated mRNA levels of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase b (HMGCRB), the key enzyme involved in lipid metabolism and cholesterol biosynthesis, in zebrafish larvae [ 38 ]. On the other hand, baicalein decreased the expression levels of SREBP1 and fatty acid synthase (fasn) and regulated the synthesis and desaturation of fatty acids, proteins and a master gene regulating cholesterol synthesis.…”

“…In addition, quercetin has the ability to stimulate the amount of IL-10, a known inhibitory factor of cytokine synthesis and anti-inflammatory cytokine [ 91 ]. In studies conducted with Puerariae Lobatae radix flavonoids, puerarin, and Citrus sinensis flavonoids, they were observed to possess important anti-inflammatory activity, assured by the downregulation of inflammatory cytokine-related genes, such as IL-1β (interleukin-1β), IL-6 and TNFα (tumor necrosis factor-α) in a zebrafish model [ 38 , 100 ]. The flavonoid-rich extract of Withania somnifera leaf, essentially with kaempferol and agigenein, revealed the significant inhibition of TNFα in adult zebrafish [ 101 ].…”