Preventive Effects of Myricetin in Hepatic Steatosis of Obese Mice Induced by a High-Fat Diet

Abstract:

To study the preventive effects of myricetin（MTN） on hepatic steatosis in mice induced by high-fat diets. Thirty-two male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups：control group（CT，fed a standard diet），CT+MTN group（fed a standard diet with additional 0.2% myricetin，w/w），a high-fat diet group（HF），HF+MTN group（fed a high-fat diet with additional 0.2% myricetin，w/w）. When the mice were fed their respective diets for 10 weeks，metabolic differences（including energy expenditure，respiratory exchange ratio，and ambulatory activity），plasma lipid profiles，hepatic redox status and lipid depositon were assessed. Furthermore，the expression of genes that involved in lipid metabolism in liver was evaluated by qPCR analysis. The results showed that when compared to control group，HF group had a significantly higher body weight and lower energy expenditure（P<0.05）. Oxidative stress occurred in liver as demonstrated by significantly elevated MDA levels，and remarkably decreased GSH-Px，SOD，CAT，and GSH levels. Meanwhile，hepatic steatosis was observed，hepatic TG，TC and FFA levels were significantly higher than control group，the expressions of lipogenesis-related genes（Acc1，Fasn，and Srebf1） were significantly up-regulated，while the fatty acid oxidation related genes（Cpt1α and Pparα） were significantly down-regulated（P<0.05）. myricetin that supplemented to high-fat diet could effectively normalize hepatic lipid status and lipid metabolism-related genes（Acc1，Fasn，Srebf1，and Cpt1α） expression，as well as improve oxidative stress related biomarkers. Therefore，myricetin prevented the occurrence of hepatic steatosis possibly through maintaining redox status，promoting energy expenditure，and regulating hepatic lipid metabolism.