# Pachymaran alleviates fat accumulation, hepatocyte degeneration, and injury in mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

## TL;DR

Pachymaran reduces fat buildup and liver damage in mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, possibly by activating the AMPK pathway.

## Contribution

This study demonstrates that pachymaran mitigates NAFLD in mice via AMPK pathway modulation.

## Key findings

- High-dose pachymaran reduced body weight and liver gain in mice compared to the NAFLD group.
- Histological and Oil Red O staining showed reduced hepatic lipid droplets and improved hepatocyte health.
- AMPK phosphorylation increased significantly following pachymaran treatment.

## Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive hepatic fat accumulation and is closely associated with obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.

This study explores the effects of pachymaran on NAFLD induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in a murine model.

Thirty male C57BL/6 mice were allocated into five groups: normal diet (ND), NAFLD, and high-, medium-, and low-dose pachymaran (200, 100, and 50 mg/kg, respectively). All groups except the ND were fed a HFD to induce NAFLD. The pachymaran groups received daily intragastric pachymaran for eight weeks. Post-treatment, liver weight were recorded, serum indices assessed, and hepatic pathology evaluated via histological and Oil Red O staining. Adenylate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene expression was analyzed through western blotting.

The body weight and liver gain (87.8 and 23.0%) in the high-dose pachymaran group were significantly less than those (154.2 and 82.0%) in the NAFLD group (P < 0.05). Fat content and serum indices improvements correlated with increased pachymaran doses. Histological analyses indicated significant alleviation of hepatocyte hypertrophy and ballooning steatosis in treated groups. Oil Red O staining confirmed a substantial decrease in hepatic lipid droplets, and western blot results indicated a significant increase in AMPK phosphorylation following treatment (P < 0.05).

Pachymaran effectively mitigated fat accumulation, hepatocyte degeneration, and injury in mice with diet-induced NAFLD, likely through modulation of the AMPK pathway.