Abstract

Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has become a very common metabolic disorder. It refers to a group of conditions where excess fats are deposited in hepatic cells. Several approaches have been considered for the management of NAFLD including dietary changes, which were reported to suppress hepatic lipids accumulation in previous studies. The present study was designed to investigate the possible synergistic effects of Rutin (RT) and Ascorbic Acid (AA) against lipids accumulation in hepatic cells of male Wistar albino rats. Thirty animals received freshly prepared experimental High Cholesterol Diets (HCD) with or without RT and/or AA for 6 consecutive weeks. In hepatic tissues nucleic acids, total protein, Total Cholesterol (TC) and Triglycerides (TG) concentrations were measured. Histopathological changes were also observed. In hepatic cells, nucleic acids and total protein levels were significantly reduced in HCD alone fed group, quite the reverse, TC and TG levels increased. RT and/or AA supplementation along with HCD showed antilipidemic effects in hepatic cells while compared to only HCD group. Histopathological assessment of the liver sections revealed moderate degree of hepatotoxicity following HCD feedings and mild degree of hepatoxocity when combining either RT or AA with HCD, while HCD+RT+AA group had no such changes. The present data demonstrated that the degree of HCD induced hepatotoxicity is in positive correlation with hepatic lipids accumulations. Both RT and AA could reduce this toxicity through their antilipidaemic properties, which may be augmented by their combined intake.

Keywords:

Ascorbic acid, fatty liver, high cholesterol diet, hypercholesterolemia, rutin,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.