Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), closely associated with obesity, is a health concern worldwide. We investigated whether the consumption of U.S.-grown sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima), an edible brown alga, can prevent obesity-associated metabolic disturbances and NASH in a mouse model of diet-induced NASH. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low-fat diet, a high-fat/high-sucrose/high-cholesterol diet (HF), or a HF diet containing sugar kelp (HF-Kelp) for 14 weeks. HF-Kelp group showed lower body weight with increased O₂ consumption, CO₂ production, physical activity, and energy expenditure compared with the HF. In the liver, there were significant decreases in weight, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and steatosis with HF-Kelp. The HF-Kelp group decreased hepatic expression of a macrophage marker adhesion G protein-coupled receptor E1 (Adgre1) and an M1 macrophage marker integrin alpha x (Itgax). HF-Kelp group also exhibited decreased liver fibrosis, as evidenced by less expression of fibrogenic genes and collagen accumulation than those of HF group. In epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), HF-Kelp group exhibited decreases in eWAT weight and adipocyte size compared with those of the HF. HF-Kelp group showed decreased expression of collagen type VI alpha 1 chain, Adgre1, Itgax, and tumor necrosis factor α in eWAT. We demonstrated, for the first time, that the consumption of U.S-grown sugar kelp prevented the development of obesity and its associated metabolic disturbances, steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis in the liver and eWAT of a diet-induced NASH mouse model.

非酒精性脂肪性肝炎（NASH）与肥胖密切相关，是世界范围内的一个健康问题。我们研究了食用美国种植的糖海带（ Saccharina latissima ）（一种可食用的褐藻）是否可以在饮食诱发的 NASH 小鼠模型中预防与肥胖相关的代谢紊乱和 NASH。雄性 C57BL/6J 小鼠喂食低脂饮食、高脂肪/高蔗糖/高胆固醇饮食 (HF) 或含糖海带的 HF 饮食 (HF-Kelp) 14 周。与HF相比，HF-海带组显示出较低的体重，并且O ₂消耗、CO ₂产生、体力活动和能量消耗增加。在肝脏中，HF-Kelp 显着降低了体重、甘油三酯、总胆固醇和脂肪变性。 HF-Kelp 组降低了巨噬细胞标记物粘附 G 蛋白偶联受体 E1 ( Adgre1 ) 和 M1 巨噬细胞标记物整合素 α x ( Itgax ) 的肝脏表达。 HF-Kelp 组还表现出肝纤维化减少，与 HF 组相比，纤维形成基因的表达和胶原蛋白积累减少证明了这一点。在附睾白色脂肪组织（eWAT）中，与 HF 组相比，HF-Kelp 组的 eWAT 重量和脂肪细胞大小有所减少。 HF-Kelp 组显示 eWAT 中 VI 型胶原蛋白 α1 链、 Adgre1、Itgax和肿瘤坏死因子 α 的表达降低。我们首次证明，食用美国种植的糖海带可以预防饮食诱导的 NASH 小鼠模型的肥胖及其相关代谢紊乱、脂肪变性、炎症和肝脏纤维化以及 eWAT 的发展。