Taraxacum officinale and Silybum marianum alone or combined orchestrate experimentally induced hepatic steatosis through lipogenecity, glucose tolerance and oxidant/antioxidant status

Abstract

Natural products with a long history of safety can modulate obesity. Taraxacum officinale, known as (dandelion) and Silybum marianum known as (milk thistle) have garnered attention for their antioxidant and antiobesity activities. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of dandelion and milk thistle alone or combined against high fat diet (HFD) induced steatohepatitis. 60 male albino rats which were equally subdivided into four groups: group I was received only HFD, other groups (II, III, IV) were received dandelion, milk thistle or dandelion/milk thistle combination respectively for 8 weeks alongside HFD. Insulin resistance, glucose tolerance, lipogenesis and antioxidant capacity were evaluated in the liver tissue. HFD fed rats exhibited increased insulin resistance-related biomarkers, H₂O₂ level, mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) as well as fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity with decreased reduced glutathione (GSH) level. Herbal supplementation improved those results with best results were for dandelion/milk thistle combination group. Results were confirmed with histopathological examination. Both dandelion and milk thistle alone or combined improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, decreased lipogenesis and increased antioxidant capacity with best results obtained in dandelion/milk thistle combination group, implying a potential application in the treatment of hepatic steatosis associated obesity.

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Keywords: High fat diet, obesity, dandelion, milk thistle, lipogenesis, insulin resistance