Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease that is closely related to metabolic syndrome. We investigated the effect of a Psoralea corylifolia L. (PC) seeds extract (PCE) on NAFLD. PC seeds were extracted using different ethanol concentrations to produce five extracts, and the 70% ethanol PCE, which had the highest phenolic content, was used in subsequent in vitro and in vivo experiments. The inhibitory effect of PCE on hepatic steatosis was estimated using HepG2 cells treated with oleic acid (OA). In addition, an in vivo NAFLD model was established using high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL/6 mice. Obesity was induced in mice over 14 weeks. PCE (100 or 200 mg/kg/day) was administered orally to mice after 8 weeks of the 14-week treatment period for 6 weeks. PCE suppressed lipid accumulation in OA-treated HepG2 cells. PCE ameliorated the antioxidant activity suppressions induced by the HFD. In addition, both PCE100 and PCE200 groups reduced lipid accumulation and the expression levels of inflammatory proteins as compared with HFD group. PCE administration significantly attenuated hepatic steatosis in liver tissues by decreasing the expression of lipogenic protein sterol regulatory element binding protein 1-c (SREBP-1c) and its downstream protein fatty acid synthase (FAS) in HFD-fed mice and in OA-treated HepG2 cells. Furthermore, PCE administration increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. These results suggest that PCE could be used as a functional material to prevent or ameliorate NAFLD by inhibiting lipid accumulation in liver. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Psoralea corylifolia L. is rich in polyphenol and other phytochemicals. In this study, we identified the beneficial effects of Psoralea corylifolia L. extract on hepatic steatosis in oleic-acid-induced HepG2 cells and high-fat diet-fed mice. The result of this study will provide the evidence that a Psoralea corylifolia L. extract has potential use as a functional material for the prevention and amelioration of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

中文翻译：

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Psoralea corylifolia L. 提取物改善游离脂肪酸孵育的 HEPG2 细胞和高脂肪饮食喂养的小鼠的非酒精性脂肪肝

非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）是一种常见的慢性肝病，与代谢综合征密切相关。我们研究了补骨脂 (PC) 种子提取物 (PCE) 对 NAFLD 的影响。PC 种子使用不同的乙醇浓度进行提取，产生五种提取物，其中酚类含量最高的 70% 乙醇 PCE 用于后续的体外和体内实验。使用油酸 (OA) 处理的 HepG2 细胞评估 PCE 对肝脂肪变性的抑制作用。此外，还使用高脂饮食（HFD）诱导的肥胖 C57BL/6 小鼠建立了体内 NAFLD 模型。在 14 周内诱导小鼠肥胖。在为期 6 周的 14 周治疗期的 8 周后，向小鼠口服 PCE（100 或 200 毫克/千克/天）。PCE 抑制 OA 处理的 HepG2 细胞中的脂质积累。PCE 改善了 HFD 诱导的抗氧化活性抑制。此外，与HFD组相比，PCE100和PCE200组均降低了脂质积累和炎症蛋白的表达水平。PCE给药通过降低HFD喂养的小鼠和OA处理的HepG2中脂肪生成蛋白甾醇调节元件结合蛋白1-c（SREBP-1c）及其下游蛋白脂肪酸合酶（FAS）的表达，显着减轻肝组织中的脂肪变性细胞。此外，PCE 给药增加了 AMP 活化蛋白激酶 (AMPK) 和乙酰辅酶 A 羧化酶的磷酸化。这些结果表明，PCE 可以作为一种功能材料，通过抑制肝脏中的脂质积累来预防或改善 NAFLD。实际应用：Psoralea corylifolia L. 富含多酚和其他植物化学物质。在这项研究中，我们确定了补骨脂提取物对油酸诱导的 HepG2 细胞和高脂肪饮食喂养小鼠肝脏脂肪变性的有益作用。这项研究的结果将提供证据，证明补骨脂提取物具有作为预防和改善非酒精性脂肪性肝病的功能材料的潜在用途。