Ophiopogonin D ameliorates non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease in high‑fat diet‑induced obese mice by improving lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory response

Exp Ther Med. 2023 Jul 13;26(3):418. doi: 10.3892/etm.2023.12116. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Lipid metabolic disorders, oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver are key steps in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Ophiopogonin D (OP-D), the main active ingredient of Ophiopogon japonicus, exhibits several pharmacological activities such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the role of OP-D in NAFLD in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mouse model. To investigate the effect of OP-D on NAFLD in vivo, a NAFLD mouse model was established following feeding mice with HFD, then the mice were randomly treated with HFD or HFD + OP-D for 4 weeks. Subsequently, primary mouse hepatocytes were isolated, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis were used for assessment to explore the direct effect of OP-D in vitro. The results of the present study indicated that OP-D could ameliorate NAFLD in HFD-induced obese mice by regulating lipid metabolism and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. Additionally, OP-D treatment decreased lipogenesis and inflammation levels in vitro, suggesting that the NF-κB signaling pathway may be involved in the beneficial effects of OP-D on NAFLD.

Keywords: inflammation; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; obese mice; ophiopogonin D; oxidative stress.

Grants and funding

Funding: This study was supported by grants from the School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology (grant no. OHIC2019G03).