Journal of Functional Foods (Nov 2023)

Alginate oligosaccharides improve high-fat induced hepatic steatosis via PGC-1α-mediated lipophagy and fatty acid β-oxidation pathway

  • Zhuoyu Li,
  • Mengyao Zhao,
  • Xiaoguo Ji,
  • Liqiang Fan,
  • Liming Zhao

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 110
p. 105825

Abstract

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This study explored the lipid-lowering effect and intervention mechanism of alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Results showed that both unsaturated (UAOS) and saturated (SAOS) AOS improved the hepatic steatosis of NAFLD mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). AOS promoted lipid catabolism in vivo and in vitro by activating the lipophagy and free fatty acid (FFA) β-oxidation pathways. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) represented the up-stream target of the FFA β-oxidation pathway and upregulated both in in vivo and in vitro, suggesting it might be the AOS intervention target. By activating or inhibiting PGC-1α, AOS modulated the PGC-1α activity to reduce hepatic lipid accumulation. Therefore, the results indicated that AOS exhibited a lipid-lowering effect via the PGC-1α-mediated lipophagy-FFA β-oxidation transduction signal axis. These findings provided insight into using food-derived ingredients to intervene and treat chronic diseases involving lipid metabolism disorders.

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