Premium
Blackcurrant ( Ribes nigrum ) Prevents Obesity‐Induced Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Mice
Author(s) -
Lee Yoojin,
Pham Tho X.,
Bae Minkyung,
Hu Siqi,
O’Neill Edward,
Chun Ock K.,
Han Myung Joo,
Koo Sung I.,
Park YoungKi,
Lee JiYoung
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22353
Subject(s) - ribes , steatosis , nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , medicine , endocrinology , steatohepatitis , fibrosis , triglyceride , fatty liver , splenocyte , obesity , diet induced obese , insulin resistance , biology , cholesterol , spleen , disease , ecology
Objective With increasing prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), effective strategies to prevent NASH are needed. This study investigated whether the consumption of blackcurrant ( Ribes nigrum ) can prevent the development of obesity‐induced NASH in vivo . Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low‐fat control diet, a low‐fat diet with 6% whole blackcurrant powder, an obesogenic high‐fat/high‐sucrose control diet (HF), or a high‐fat/high‐sucrose diet containing 6% whole blackcurrant powder (HF‐B) for 24 weeks. Results HF significantly increased, whereas HF‐B markedly decreased, liver weights and triglyceride. Furthermore, blackcurrant attenuated obesity‐induced infiltration of macrophages in the liver, in particular, the M1 type, and also suppressed the hepatic expression of fibrogenic genes and fibrosis. Flow cytometric analysis showed that HF significantly increased the percentages of monocytes of total splenocytes, which was markedly attenuated by blackcurrant. HF‐B decreased lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated mRNA expression of interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor α in splenocytes, compared with those from HF controls. Moreover, the levels of circulating and hepatic miR‐122‐5p and miR‐192‐5p, known markers for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, were significantly increased by HF but decreased by HF‐B. Conclusions The study’s findings indicate that blackcurrant consumption prevents obesity‐induced steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis in the liver.