Low‐molecular weight oligosaccharides from gum tragacanth (Astragalus gossypinus) ameliorate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Wistar male rats

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease affecting 25% of the world's population. The effects of oligosaccharides from Gum tragacanth (Astragalus gossypinus) (GT) on oxidative stress, glucose metabolism, and expression of autophagy genes were investigated in induced non‐alcoholic fatty liver. Twenty‐four male healthy rats were divided into four groups, Control; high‐fat diet, high‐fat diet + 100 mg GT oligosaccharides/kg body weight, high‐fat diet + 200 mg GT oligosaccharides/kg body weight and fed with the trial diets for 70 days. At the end of the experiment, the results indicated that GT oligosaccharides affected the weight gain and liver weight in NAFLD‐induced rats. In addition, the results showed that the use of GT oligosaccharides significantly decreased oxidative stress, liver injury, and hyperglycemia (p < .05) and upregulated the expression of autophagy genes in NAFLD‐induced rats. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Overall, the results of the current study demonstrated that the use of GT oligosaccharides obtained from Gum tragacanth (Astragalus gossypinus) showed significant antioxidant properties and hypoglycemia in NAFLD induced rats and could be used as a useful nutritional strategy for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.