Counteracting methionine choline-deficient diet-induced fatty liver by administration of turmeric and silymarin

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common liver disease in the world. Feeding rats a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet had served as a nutritional model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the probable effect of turmeric and silymarin with high polyphenolic content on experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into equal four groups: group 1, as control was fed on methionine choline-sufficient (MCS) diet; group 2 was fed on MCD diet; group 3 was fed on MCD diet supplemented with 1% turmeric and group 4 was fed on MCD diet supplemented with 1% silymarin. MCD diet-fed rats developed steatohepatitis at week 6 due to hepatic lipid accumulation. MCD diet induced hepatic damage was manifested by a significant increase in serum activities of the enzymes [alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALK-P)] in addition to products of lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS). A significant decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) content was observed. Treatment of rats with turmeric and silymarin reversed these altered parameters towards normal values. Histological evaluation of the liver samples revealed that turmeric and silymarin had abated the severity of steatosis among the MCD-fed rats. These results suggest that turmeric and silymarin protect against NAFLD by limiting hepatic lipid accumulation and liver injury mainly due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.