Abstract

EFFECT OF POMEGRANATE (PUNICAGRANATUM L.) (ARILS, PEELS AND SEEDS) EXTRACTS ON FATTY LIVER IN RATS

Menna Moustafa Nazeem, Gehan Salah El- Din Moram* and Heba Adel Barakat

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of pomegranate extracts (arils, peels, and seeds) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats. Methods: The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was induced by methionine choline deficient (MCD) diet. Different pomegranate extracts (arils, peels, and seeds) were administered orally at dose 5ml/kg/b.wt./day. Rats were divided into 2 groups. Group I healthy group were fed on standard diet and group II fatty liver group were fed on MCD diet. After a month of the experiment, Group I was subdivided into 4 groups as follows: G1 healthy control, G 2 pomegranate juice (healthy PJ), G 3 pomegranate peels extract (healthy PPE), and group 4 pomegranate seeds extract (healthy PSE). Also Group II was subdivided into 4 groups included: G5 (fatty liver control group), G6(fatty liver + PJ), G7(fatty liver + PPE) and G8(fatty liver + PSE). Results: The results indicated that MCD diet induced significantly hyperlipidemia, significantly elevated nitric oxide concentration and malondialdehyde level, and also significantly depletes reduced glutathione content, catalase, paraoxonase and arylesterase enzymes activities in liver. Moreover MCD diet significantly raised plasma pentaxin-3 and cytokeratin-18 concentrations and significantly elevated liver enzymes. However pomegranate extracts (PJ, PPE and PSE) significantly reduced hyperlipidemia, significantly depleted the elevation of oxidative stress markers and also significantly raised the antioxidants. Moreover, pomegranate extracts improved the liver function and significantly depleted markers for cell death. The results were confirmed by liver histopathology In conclusion: Pomegranate extracts administration attenuated the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in rats.

Keywords: Pomegranate, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, oxidative stress, antioxidant, hepatoprotective.