Ginger Essential Oil Ameliorates Hepatic Injury and Lipid Accumulation in High Fat Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective efficacy and mechanism of action of ginger essential oil (GEO) against the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Mice were maintained on either a control diet or high-fat diet (HFD) supplemented with GEO (12.5, 62.5, and 125 mg/kg) or citral (2.5 and 25 mg/kg) for 12 weeks. We demonstrated that GEO and its major component (citral) lowered HFD-induced obesity in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied by anti-hyperlipidemic effects by reducing serum free fatty acid, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels. Moreover, liver histological results showed that administration of 62.5 and 125 mg/kg GEO and 25 mg/kg citral significantly reduced hepatic lipid accumulation. Further assessment by Western blotting and investigation of the lipid metabolism revealed that hepatic protein expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) were down-regulated by GEO and citral, indicating that GEO and citral suppressed HFD-stimulated lipid biosynthesis and oxidative stress. Furthermore, GEO and citral effectively enhanced the antioxidant capacities and reduced inflammatory response in mouse liver, which exerted protective effects against steatohepatitis. Collectively, GEO and citral exhibited potent hepatoprotective effects against NAFLD induced by HFD in obese mice. Thus, GEO might be an effective dietary supplement to ameliorate NAFLD-related metabolic diseases, and citral could play a vital role in its management.

Oral arginine supplementation protects female mice from the onset of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

“…In contrast, expression of Cpt - 1 was not different between groups, suggesting that contrary to the findings of others in settings of high fat diet-induced NAFLD (Lai et al 2016), the development of NAFLD in the present study was not associated with marked alterations of long chain fatty acid metabolism. Again, differences between studies of others and our own might have resulted from differences in experimental setup but also detection methods used (e.g., real-time PCR vs. Western blot) (Lai et al 2016; Sharawy et al 2016; Tan et al 2011). Taken together, our data suggest that the beneficial effects of an Arg supplementation on the development of NASH found in the present study may at least in part have resulted from alterations of hepatic lipogenesis.…”

“…Indeed, all three markers seemed to be affected by the supplementation of Arg regardless of diet fed and independently of Srebp - 1c, as the latter seemed not to be differently regulated at the level of mRNA expression when compared to mice not fed Arg. However, as Srebp - 1c activity is not only regulated at the level of transcription (Lai et al 2016), it cannot be ruled out that Srebp - 1c activity might have been affected by the supplementation of Arg. Our results are in part contrasting the results of Jobgen et al (2009a) who did not report alterations in controls for Acc, Fasn or Scd - 1 in adipose tissue of rats treated with Arg while animals being fed a high fat diet were affected by the Arg supplementation.…”

Effect of Raw and Cooked Ginger (<i>Zingiber officinale</i> Roscoe) Extracts on Serum Cholesterol and Triglyceride in Normal and Diabetic Rats

“…In alcohol-induced dyslipidemia aqueous ginger extract was reported to reduce elevated biomarkers such as fatty acids, triglyceride, total cholesterol, phospholipids and low density lipoprotein cholesterol thus corroborating the reports earlier sited [27]. Even ginger oil was observed to be effective in reducing serum free fatty acids, triglyceride and total cholesterol thus preventing lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [28]. There is paucity of the effect of raw (without addition of water) and cooked ginger (the form in which the spice is mostly consumed) extracts on body lipids, hence, this experimental study was designed to determine and compare the effect of raw and cooked ginger extracts on serum triglycerides and total cholesterol in normal, streptozocin-induced and high-fat diet-induced diabetic rats.…”

Beneficial effects of ginger Zingiber officinale Roscoe on obesity and metabolic syndrome: a review

“…NAFLD is a metabolic stress, and its prevalence is rapidly increasing owing to strong association with obesity, dyslipidemia, T2DM, and hypertension . Several factors (hepatic lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation) are involved in the pathologic metabolic mechanisms that ultimately lead to the accumulation of liver fat and NAFLD progression . Ginger has been reported to have significant anti‐NAFLD effects in both in vivo and in vitro studies.…”