In:
Food & Function, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Vol. 12, No. 17 ( 2021), p. 7805-7815
Abstract:
Liver fibrosis is a progression of chronic liver disease characterized by excess deposition of fibrillary collagen. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of a triterpenoid-enriched extract (TEE) from bitter melon leaves against carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice. Male ICR mice received TEE (100 or 150 mg kg −1 ) by daily oral gavage for one week before starting CCl 4 administration and throughout the entire experimental period. After intraperitoneal injection of CCl 4 for nine weeks, serum and liver tissues of the mice were collected for biochemical, histopathological and molecular analyses. Our results showed that TEE supplementation reduced CCl 4 -induced serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities. Histopathological examinations revealed that CCl 4 administration results in hepatic fibrosis, while TEE supplementation significantly suppressed hepatic necroinflammation and collagen deposition. In addition, TEE supplementation decreased α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)-positive staining and protein levels of α-SMA and transforming growth factor-β1. TEE-supplemented mice had lower mRNA expression levels of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and toll-like receptor 4. Moreover, TEE (150 mg kg −1 ) supplementation significantly reduced intrahepatic inflammatory Ly6C + monocyte infiltration. We demonstrated that TEE could ameliorate hepatic fibrosis by regulating inflammatory cytokine secretion and α-SMA expression in the liver to reduce collagen accumulation.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2042-6496
,
2042-650X
Language:
English
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2578152-2
SSG:
21
