HESA-A Attenuates Hepatic Steatosis in NAFLD Rat Model Through the Suppression of SREBP-1c and NF-kβ

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disorder, which is mainly considered a result of high-fat diet in humans. The clinical spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with irreversible complications. Therefore, early treatments, especially with medicinal plants can be considered as an important strategy in NAFLD treatment. This study aimed at investigating the effect of HESA-A (a herbal-marine supplement) on treatment of fatty liver in rats by evaluation of SREBP-1c and NF-kβ genes expression and biochemical analyses. In an experimental study, 28 male Wistar rats (weighing 180 ± 20 g), were divided to two groups and treated with a standard diet (n = 7) and a high-fat diet (HFD) (n = 21) for eight weeks. In order to confirm the NAFLD, the control group and seven rats of the HFD group were killed and biochemical parameters and histopathological changes were analyzed. The rest of the rats were divided to two groups and fed either atorvastatin (30 mg/kg/day) or HESA-A (500 mg/kg/day) for 30 days. Finally, serum biomarkers of liver damage, serum lipid profiles and gene expression of NF-kβ and SREBP-1c were investigated. Semi-quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) analyses showed that the expression of SREBP-1c and NF-kβ increased in NAFLD rat model compared to the control group. The expression level of SREBP-1c and NF-kβ genes showed a significant decrease in HESA-A and atorvastatin-treated groups in comparison to the control group. Biochemical analyses also confirmed these results. These findings showed that HESA-A could be used as an effective alternative in treatment of NAFLD with low side effects in comparison with atorvastatin as current medication.