The Effect of Ellagic Acid on Hepatic Lipid Metabolism and Antioxidant Activity in Mice

Abstract

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the imbalance of lipid metabolism and antioxidant capacity leads to damage to liver. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of ellagic acid (EA), a phenolic compound, on hepatic lipid metabolism and antioxidant activity in mice. In our study, 24 C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups: (1) control (CON); (2) basal diet+0.1% EA (EA1); and (3) basal diet+0.3% EA (EA2). After the 14-day experiment, the liver was sampled for analysis. The results showed that 0.3% EA administration increased the liver weight. Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol activities decreased and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol activity increased by EA supplementation. Meanwhile, dietary supplementation with EA dose-dependently decreased the acetyl-CoA carboxylase protein abundance and increased the phospho-hormone-sensitive lipase, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha protein abundances. Moreover, EA supplementation reduced the malonaldehyde concentration and increased the superoxide dismutase and catalase concentrations. The protein abundances of phospho-nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2, heme oxygenase-1, and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 increased by EA supplementation in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, EA supplementation promoted the lipid metabolism and antioxidant capacity to maintain the liver health in mice.

A Network Pharmacology Approach to Elucidate the Anti-inflammatory Effects of Ellagic Acid

“…Particularly, abnormalities in lipid profile or regulation can lead to abnormalities in inflammatory responses, and the reverse is also true in that alterations of inflammatory signaling (in the context of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or atherosclerosis) can result in changes of lipid metabolism in liver, skeletal muscle, macrophage, or adipose tissue (Glass & Olefsky, 2012). In a murine basal diet model, EA supplementation decreased total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and the abundance of acetyl-CoA carboxylase while increasing high-density lipoprotein and the abundances of phospho-hormone-sensitive lipase, carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1B, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha protein (Xu et al, 2021). In a randomized double-blind clinical trial, patients with type 2 diabetes consuming 180 mg of EA daily for 8 weeks demonstrated a decrease in inflammatory markers (i.e, TNF, and IL-6), total cholesterol, triglycerides, as well as low-density lipoprotein and an increase in total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity, as well as superoxide dismutase enzymes (Ghadimi et al, 2021).…”

Temperature‐dependent extraction and chromatographic recovery and characterisation of ellagitannins with potent antioxidant and glycaemic control properties from ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate peel

“…5c), which together, potentiated the potent antioxidant action of the purified tannin. Moreover, an ellagitannins‐rich dietary supplement from pomegranate has been shown to suppress lipid peroxidation in obese individuals (Heber et al ., 2007), while commercial ellagic has been shown to exert anti‐lipid peroxidative activity in obese animals (Xu et al ., 2021). Also, the antioxidant properties gallic (Gao et al ., 2019), as well as quercetin and its glucosides (Terao, 2023) have been documented.…”

Dose-Related Regulatory Effect of Raspberry Polyphenolic Extract on Cecal Microbiota Activity, Lipid Metabolism and Inflammation in Rats Fed a Diet Rich in Saturated Fats

“…In addition to the generation of urolithins in almost all mammals after ETs are consumed, there are also some animal species (e.g., pigs and rats) that are able to produce dehydroxyellagic acid derivatives, namely, nasutins [ 16 ]. After absorption by the intestine into the bloodstream, raspberry polyphenolic metabolites are first transported to the liver, where they can interact with molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of metabolism, inflammation and oxidative stress [ 4 , 17 ]. One of the mechanisms that might be activated by raspberry polyphenols is related to the regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) in the liver [ 18 , 19 ].…”