Terminalia paniculata bark extract attenuates non-alcoholic fatty liver via down regulation of fatty acid synthase in high fat diet-fed obese rats

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to understand the possible therapeutic activity of Terminalia paniculata ethanolic extract (TPEE) on non alcoholic fatty liver in rats fed with high fat diet. METHODS: Thirty six SD rats were divided into 6 groups (n = 6): Normal control (NC), high fat diet (HFD), remaining four groups were fed on HFD along with different doses of TPEE (100,150 and 200 mg/kg b.wt) or orlistat, for ten weeks. Liver tissue was homogenized and analyzed for lipid profiles, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Further, the expression levels of FAS and AMPK-1α were also studied in addition to histopathology examination of liver tissue in all the groups. RESULTS: HFD significantly increased hepatic liver total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA) and MDA but decreased the activities of SOD and CAT which were subsequently reversed by supplementation with TPEE in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, TPEE administration significantly down regulated hepatic mRNA expression of FAS but up regulated AMPK-1α compared to HFD alone fed group. Furthermore, western blot analysis of FAS has clearly demonstrated decreased expression of FAS in HFD + TPEE (200 mg/kg b.wt) treated group when compared to HFD group at protein level. CONCLUSIONS: Our biochemical studies on hepatic lipid profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities supported by histological and expression studies suggest a potential therapeutic role for TPEE in regulating obesity through FAS.