Accumulated lipid droplets in liver cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Deep ocean water (DOW) containing high levels of magnesium, calcium, and potassium, etc. was proven to suppress hepatic lipid in obese rats fed high fat diet in the previous study. However, the effect of mineral compositions of DOW on the prevention of NAFLD is still unclear. This study removed calcium and potassium from DOW for modulating the mineral composition, and further compared the effects of DOW (D1(Mg + Ca + K)), DOW with low potassium (D2(Mg + Ca)), and DOW with low calcium and potassium (D3(Mg)) on the prevention of NAFLD in the mice model fed with high fat diet. In these results, DOW with high magnesium levels reduced serum and liver triglyceride and cholesterol levels and serum AST and ALT activities. However, when the calcium and/or potassium minerals were removed from DOW, the effects of reduction of triglyceride level, inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) expressions, and activation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase activities would be weaker. In conclusion, DOW including magnesium, calcium and potassium minerals has the strongest preventive effect on NAFLD in a mouse model by increasing the antioxidant system and inhibiting fatty acid biosynthesis.
Keywords: calcium; deep ocean water; magnesium; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; potassium.