Alleviating the effect of quinoa and the underlying mechanism on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed rats

Chenwei Song; Wei Lv; Yahui Li; Pan Nie; Jun Lu; Yanlou Geng; Zhang Heng; Lihua Song

doi:10.1186/s12986-021-00631-7

Alleviating the effect of quinoa and the underlying mechanism on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed rats

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2021 Dec 18;18(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s12986-021-00631-7.

Authors

Chenwei Song^#¹, Wei Lv^#², Yahui Li^#³, Pan Nie¹, Jun Lu⁴, Yanlou Geng⁵, Zhang Heng⁶, Lihua Song⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
² National Semi-Arid Agriculture Engineering Technology Research Center, Shijiazhuang, 050051, Hebei, China.
³ Center for Food Evaluation, State Administration for Market Regulation, Beijing, 100070, China.
⁴ Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201602, China.
⁵ National Semi-Arid Agriculture Engineering Technology Research Center, Shijiazhuang, 050051, Hebei, China. Kejizhiguang@163.com.
⁶ Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201602, China. hengzhang@psc.ac.cn.
⁷ School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China. lihuas@sjtu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic component of metabolic syndrome and has attracted widespread attention due to its increased prevalence. Daily dietary management is an effective strategy for the prevention of NAFLD. Quinoa, a nutritious pseudocereal, is abundant in antioxidative bioactive phytochemicals. In the present study, the effects of different amounts of quinoa on the progression of NAFLD and the related molecular mechanism were investigated.

Methods: Male SD rats were simultaneously administered a high fat diet (HF) and different amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/day and 300 g/day of human intake, respectively). After 12 weeks of the intervention, hepatic TG (triglyceride) and TC (total cholesterol) as well as serum antioxidative parameters were determined, and hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E) staining was used to evaluate hepatic steatosis. Differential metabolites in serum and hepatic tissue were identified using UPLC-QTOF-MS^E. The mRNA expression profile was investigated using RNA-Seq and further verified using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Results: Low amounts of quinoa (equivalent to 100 g/d of human intake) effectively controlled the weight of rats fed a high-fat diet. In addition, quinoa effectively inhibited the increase in hepatic TG and TC levels, mitigated pathological injury, promoted the increase in SOD and GSH-Px activities, and decreased MDA levels. Nontarget metabolic profile analysis showed that quinoa regulated lipid metabolites in the circulation system and liver such as LysoPC and PC. RNA-Seq and RT-PCR verification revealed that a high amount of quinoa more effectively upregulated genes related to lipid metabolism [Apoa (apolipoprotein)5, Apoa4, Apoc2] and downregulated genes related to the immune response [lrf (interferon regulatory factor)5, Tlr6 (Toll-like receptor), Tlr10, Tlr11, Tlr12].

Conclusion: Quinoa effectively prevented NAFLD by controlling body weight, mitigating oxidative stress, and regulating the lipid metabolic profile and the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism and the immune response.

Keywords: Fatty liver; Immune response; Lipid metabolism; Oxidative stress; Quinoa.

Abstract

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