title: Qushi Huayu Decoction Inhibits Hepatic Lipid Accumulation by Activating AMP-Activated Protein Kinase In Vivo and In Vitro.
abstract: Qushi Huayu Decoction (QHD), a Chinese herbal formula, has been proven effective on alleviating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in human and rats. The present study was conducted to investigate whether QHD could inhibit hepatic lipid accumulation by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in vivo and in vitro. Nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) model was duplicated with high-fat diet in rats and with free fatty acid (FFA) in L02 cells. In in vivo experimental condition, QHD significantly decreased the accumulation of fatty droplets in livers, lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in serum. Moreover, QHD supplementation reversed the HFD-induced decrease in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and decreased hepatic nuclear protein expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP) in the liver. In in vitro, QHD-containing serum decreased the cellular TG content and alleviated the accumulation of fatty droplets in L02 cells. QHD supplementation reversed the FFA-induced decrease in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and ACC and decreased the hepatic nuclear protein expression of SREBP-1 and ChREBP. Overall results suggest that QHD has significant effect on inhibiting hepatic lipid accumulation via AMPK pathway in vivo and in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Liver Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 258 Zhangheng Road, Pudong District, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Gou
authors.forename: Sheng-Xi
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yu-Quan
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ya-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Wen-Jing
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jing-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Yi-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Hu