Ginsenoside Rg1 Regulates Liver Lipid Factor Metabolism in NAFLD Model Rats

Yunhe Hou; Danshan Gu; Jianzhi Peng; Kerong Jiang; Zhigang Li; Jing Shi; Shikun Yang; Shude Li; Xiaoming Fan

doi:10.1021/acsomega.0c00529

Ginsenoside Rg1 Regulates Liver Lipid Factor Metabolism in NAFLD Model Rats

ACS Omega. 2020 May 5;5(19):10878-10890. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00529. eCollection 2020 May 19.

Authors

Yunhe Hou^{1

2

3

4}, Danshan Gu^{1

4}, Jianzhi Peng⁵, Kerong Jiang¹, Zhigang Li¹, Jing Shi¹, Shikun Yang⁶, Shude Li^{1

4}, Xiaoming Fan²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P. R. China.
² Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 541004, P. R. China.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology, School of Food Engineering, Qingdao Institute of Technology, Qingdao, Shandong 266300, P. R. China.
⁴ Yunnan Province Key Laboratory for Nutrition and Food Safety in Universities, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, P. R. China.
⁵ Department of Nutrition, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650101, P. R. China.
⁶ Organ Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650031, P. R. China.

Abstract

To establish the molecular mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (180-220 g) were randomly divided into a control group, model group, ginsenoside Rg1 low-dose group (30 mg/(kg day)), high-dose (60 mg/(kg day)) group, and simvastatin group (1 mg/(kg day)), with 10 SD rats in each group. The control group was given a normal diet. The model group rats were given high-sugar and high-fat diets for 14 weeks. After the model of NAFLD was established successfully, ginsenoside Rg1 was administered orally for 4 or 8 weeks. The results showed that ginsenoside Rg1 decreased the levels of glucose (GLU), insulin (INS), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) and improved liver function. Meanwhile, ginsenoside Rg1 inhibited the secretion of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and improved hepatocyte morphology and lipid accumulation in the liver. Furthermore, ginsenoside Rg1 promoted the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1α (CPT1A), carnitine palmitoyl transferase 2 (CPT2), and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP-7A) and inhibited the expression of sterol regulatory element binding proteins-1C (SREBP-1C). In conclusion, ginsenoside Rg1 can inhibit inflammatory reaction, regulate lipid metabolism, and alleviate liver injury in NAFLD model rats.