Protective effects of Gymnaster koraiensis extract on high fat diet-induced fatty liver in mice

Obesity produces non-alcoholic liver disease, with relationship of the beginning of abnormal lipid metabolism. Recent studies show that abnormal cholesterol metabolism has a specific role in the pathological cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Gymnaster koraiensis (GK), a worthy perennial Korean wild plant has specific polyacetylene compounds. Many researches have presented that GK has many pharmacological properties, such as oxidation prevention, liver protection, and inflammation prevention. However, the conservative effect of GK on non-alcoholic fatty liver has not been researched so far. Male C57/BL6J mice were randomly separated to normal feeding (ND) (fed a ND for 12 weeks) and high fat feeding (HF) groups. Mice in the HF group were administered a high fat feeding (60% kcal high fat diet) and administered GK extract (125, 250, or 500 mg/kg/day), silymarin (200 mg/kg/day), or no treatment for 12 weeks. Each treatment group contained eight mice. The administration with GK decreased serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, while decreased body weight, body fat and liver weight. Alterations in liver histology, as assessed by H&E and Oil-red O staining, showed that the GK treatment decreased amass of lipids and NAFLD activity scores in liver. These results present that GK extract may be potential therapeutic agent for NAFLD by preventing increases of serum lipids and increases of body weight and fat, while decreasing lipid accumulation and increase of liver weight in high fat diet-triggered fatty liver.