Betaine alleviates hepatic lipid accumulation via enhancing hepatic lipid export and fatty acid oxidation in rats fed with a high-fat diet.
To assess the effects of betaine on hepatic lipid accumulation and investigate the underlying mechanism, thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 100 (sd 2·50) g were divided into four groups, and started on one of four treatments: basal diet, basal diet with betaine administration, high-fat diet and high-fat diet with betaine administration. The results showed that no significant difference of body weight was found among experimental groups. Compared with high-fat diet-fed rats, a betaine supplementation decreased (P< 0·05) hepatic TAG accumulation induced by high-fat diet, which was also supported by hepatic histology results. Additionally, hepatic betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase concentration [corrected] as well as its mRNA abundance and lecithin level were found increased (P< 0·05) by betaine supplementation in both basal diet-fed rats and high-fat diet-fed rats. Betaine administration in high-fat diet-fed rats exhibited a higher (P< 0·05) concentration [corrected] of hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) compared with high-fat diet-fed rats. High-fat diet inhibited (P< 0·05) the gene expression of hepatic PPARα and CPT1. However, betaine administration in high-fat diet-fed rats elevated (P< 0·05) the gene expression of PPARα and CPT1. Moreover, concentration, gene and protein expressions of hepatic fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) were increased (P< 0·05) in response to betaine administration in high-fat diet group; meanwhile the gene expression of hepatic AMP-activated protein kinase was increased (P< 0·05) as well. The results suggest that betaine administration enhanced hepatic lipid export and fatty acid oxidation in high-fat diet-fed rats, thus effectively alleviating fat accumulation in the liver.
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Li
L
Xu
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Danping
D
Huang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Qiaolin
Q
Hu
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Jing
J
Wu
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Yizhen
Y
Wang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University,Hangzhou310029,People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Feng
D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001622:Betaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D050940:Betaine-Homocysteine S-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D054709:Lecithins / Q000032:analysis; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D008082:Lipotropic Agents; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D005227:Fatty Acids; D054709:Lecithins; D008082:Lipotropic Agents; D047493:PPAR alpha; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014280:Triglycerides; D001622:Betaine; D050940:Betaine-Homocysteine S-Methyltransferase; D002334:Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases
Betaine; High-fat diet; Lipid accumulation; Liver; Rats