Hydroethanolic extract of Baccharis trimera ameliorates alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice

Chem Biol Interact. 2016 Dec 25:260:22-32. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2016.10.003. Epub 2016 Oct 15.

Abstract

Ethanol abuse is a serious public health problem that is associated with several stages of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), the earliest stage of ALD, is a multifactorial injury that involves oxidative stress and disruptions of lipid metabolism. Although benign and reversible, no pharmacological treatments are available for this condition. In the present study, we induced AFLD in mice with 10% ethanol and a low-protein diet and then orally treated them with a hydroethanolic extract of Baccharis trimera (HEBT; 30 mg kg-1). HEBT reversed ethanol-induced oxidative stress in the liver, reduced lipoperoxidation, normalized GPx, GST, SOD and Cat activity, and GSH and total ROS levels. The reverser effect of HEBT was observed upon ethanol-induced increases in the levels of plasma and hepatic triglycerides, plasma cholesterol, plasma high-density lipoprotein, and plasma and hepatic low-density lipoprotein. Moreover, HEBT increased fecal triglycerides and reduced the histological ethanol-induced lesions in the liver. HEBT also altered the expression of genes that are involved in ethanol metabolism, antioxidant systems, and lipogenesis (i.e., CypE1, Nrf2, and Scd1, respectively). No signs of toxicity were observed in HEBT-treated mice. We propose that HEBT may be a promising pharmacological treatment for AFLD.

Keywords: Alcoholic fatty liver; Baccharis trimera; Carqueja; Ethanol; Hepatology; Liver.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Baccharis / chemistry*
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Body Weight / drug effects
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Ethanol / chemistry*
  • Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / blood
  • Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / drug therapy*
  • Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / genetics
  • Fatty Liver, Alcoholic / pathology
  • Feces / chemistry
  • Feeding Behavior / drug effects
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Lipids / blood
  • Liver / drug effects
  • Liver / pathology
  • Liver / ultrastructure
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Models, Biological
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plant Extracts / therapeutic use*
  • Water / chemistry*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Lipids
  • Plant Extracts
  • Water
  • Ethanol