Research Article Details

Article ID: A02711
PMID: 34276221
Source: Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes
Title: Biochanin A Regulates Cholesterol Metabolism Further Delays the Progression of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
Abstract: Purpose: To discover the possible target of biochanin A (BCA) in the lipid metabolism pathway and further explore its mechanism to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: We adopted a high-fat and high-glucose diet for 12 weeks to build the NAFLD rat model, which was then treated with different proportions of BCA for 4 weeks. General condition, body weight, Lee index, and liver index were then evaluated. Furthermore, blood lipid level and insulin resistance (IR) were detected. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin and oil red O staining were used to observe the pathological changes in the liver. Finally, Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression levels of CYP7A1, HMGCR, LDLR, PPAR-&#945;, PPAR-&#947;, and SREBP-1c in the liver. Results: The vital signs of rats in each group were stable. The treatment with BCA effectively reduced Lee index and liver index (F = 104.781, P < 0.05); however, the weight was not effected in each group. Additionally, BCA effectively reduced the related lipid metabolism indexes of NAFLD, such as total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), blood glucose, insulin, IR (F =12.463 (TC), 6.909 [TG], and 15.3 effected 75 [LDL], P < 0.05), and increased HDL (F = 11.580, P < 0.05). We observed that BCA could significantly improve steatosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in liver slices. Furthermore, BCA significantly increased the CYP7A1, LDLR, and PPAR-&#945; protein expression in the liver and downregulated the HMGCR, SREBP-1c, and PPAR-&#947; protein expression. Conclusion: BCA could delay the liver damage of NAFLD induced by a high-fat diet, regulate the blood lipid level, and improve the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes in rats.
DOI: 10.2147/DMSO.S315471