Hepatoprotective effects of Cassia semen ethanol extract on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in experimental rat

Figures & data

Figure 1. Effects of Cassia semen ethanol extract on body weight (A) and liver coefficient (B). *p < 0.05 vs. model group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin.

Table 1. Effect of Cassia semen ethanol extracts on serum liver function markers and blood lipid levels.

Group	ALT ( IU/L)	AST ( IU/L)	TG ( mmol/L)	TC (mmol/L)
Control	86.72 ± 9.60	160.65 ± 10.23	0.70 ± 0.05	1.81 ± 0.46
Model	261.25 ± 33.55^##	362.17 ± 38.23^##	1.36 ± 0.32^##	2.64 ± 0.61^##
MET 0.2 g/kg	176.33 ± 22.06**	268.53 ± 9.18*	0.75 ± 0.06*	1.50 ± 0.31*
Cs 0.5 g/kg	230.90 ± 27.84	305.91 ± 13.65*	1.08 ± 0.13	2.01 ± 0.24
Cs 1 g/kg	203.33 ± 20.06*	288.53 ± 9.18*	0.85 ± 0.31*	1.70 ± 0.28*
Cs 2 g/kg	180.77 ± 13.52**	238.44 ± 9.79**	0.65 ± 0.13**	1.33 ± 0.35**

Data are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 12) in each group. ^##p < 0.01 vs control group; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs model group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin; ALT: Alanine transferase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; TG: Triglycerides; TC: Total cholesterol.

Table 2. Effect of Cassia semen ethanol extracts on liver antioxidant enzyme-specific activities, antioxidant and lipid peroxidation levels.

Group	SOD (U/mgprot)	GSH (mg/gprot)	MDA (nmol/mgprot)
Control	199.42 ± 19.23	9.76 ± 1.32	4.19 ± 1.13
Model	137.70 ± 7.89^##	4.55 ± 0.91^##	9.58 ± 3.02^##
MET 0.2 g/kg	177.95 ± 9.51*	6.68 ± 1.26*	5.04 ± 1.41*
Cs 0.5 g/kg	140.95 ± 7.18*	5.88 ± 1.06*	5.24 ± 1.46**
Cs 1 g/kg	159.50 ± 11.13*	6.79 ± 0.93*	4.13 ± 1.13**
Cs 2 g/kg	180.25 ± 10.79**	7.79 ± 1.48**	3.45 ± 1.39**

Data are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 12) in each group. ^##p < 0.01 vs control group; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs model group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; GSH: Glutathione; MDA: Malondialdehyde.

Table 3. Effect of Cassia semen ethanol extracts on serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8.

Group	TNF-α (ng/mL)	IL-6 (pg/mL)	IL-8 (ng/mL)
Control	0.85 ± 0.30	61.33 ± 9.02	0.69 ± 0.11
Model	1.48 ± 0.51^##	102.22 ± 36.19^##	1.28 ± 0.42^##
MET 0.2 g/kg	0.93 ± 0.29**	80.03 ± 8.44*	0.76 ± 0.14*
Cs 0.5 g/kg	1.52 ± 0.36	90.07 ± 10.55*	0.98 ± 0.23
Cs 1 g/kg	0.93 ± 0.21*	75.52 ± 6.66*	0.75 ± 0.11*
Cs 2 g/kg	0.86 ± 0.15**	63.41 ± 10.09**	0.68 ± 0.20**

Data are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 12) in each group. ^##p < 0.01 vs control group; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs model group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-6: Interleukin-6; IL-8: Interleukin-8.

Figure 2. The histopathological examination by H&E (200 ×). (A): Control group, (B): Model group, (C): MET 0.2 g/kg group, (D): Cs 0.5 g/kg group, (E): Cs 1 g/kg group. (F): Cs 2 g/kg group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin.

Table 4. Grading of hepatic fatty lesions and inflammation of each group.

Group	n	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4
Control	12	12	0	0	0	0
Model	12	0	0	0	1	11
MET 0.2 g/kg	12	0	6	6	0	0
Cs 0.5 g/kg	12	0	6	3	3	0
Cs 1 g/kg	12	0	9	3	0	0
Cs 2 g/kg	12	3	8	1	0	0

Cs: Cassia semen; MET: Metformin.

Figure 3. (A) Effect of Cassia semen ethanol extract on mRNA expression of LDL-R in liver tissue. (B) Data were expressed as mean ± SD of 12 rats in each group. **p < 0.01 vs. model group. Cs: Cassia semen, MET: Metformin.