Advanced effect of curcumin and resveratrol on mitigating hepatic steatosis in metabolic associated fatty liver disease via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and HIF-1/VEGF cascade.

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease that has no viable treatment. Curcumin (Cur) and resveratrol (Res) are two natural products that have been studied for their potential to ameliorate MAFLD. However, while these compounds have been investigated individually, their combined use and the potential for a synergistic or augmented effect remain unexplored. This study aims to investigate the effect of curcumin (Cur) and resveratrol (Res) as a potential combination therapy on MAFLD. Cur, Res and Cur+Res were tested in palmitic acid (PA)-induced-HepG2 cells. MAFLD model was established using Goto-Kakizaki rats. The animals were treated with vehicle control (model group), Cur (150 mg/kg), Res (150 mg/kg), Cur+Res (150 mg/kg, 8:2, w/w), or metformin (Met, positive control, 400 mg/kg/day) via oral gavage for 4 weeks. Wistar rats were used as the control group. Network pharmacology was conducted to elucidate the molecular actions of Cur and Res, followed by q-PCR and immunoblotting in vivo. Cur+Res exhibited synergistic effects in reducing triglyceride, total cholesterol and lipid accumulation in PA-induced HepG2 cells. The combination also markedly attenuated hepatic steatosis in the MAFLD rats. Network pharmacology illustrated that the interaction of Cur and Res was associated with the modulation of multiple molecular targets associated with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and HIF-1 signaling pathways. Experimental results confirmed that Cur+Res nomalised the gene targets and protein expressions in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and HIF-1 signaling pathways, including PI3K, mTOR, STAT-3, HIF-1α, and VEGF. The present study demonstrated an advanced effect of Cur and Res in combination to attenuate MAFLD, and the mechanism is at least partly associated with the modulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and HIF-1 signaling pathways.

Protective effect of the curcumin-baicalein combination against macrovascular changes in diabetic angiopathy.

Endothelial dysfunction is an early pathological event in diabetic angiopathy which is the most common complication of diabetes. This study aims to investigate individual and combined actions of Curcumin (Cur) and Baicalein (Bai) in protecting vascular function. The cellular protective effects of Cur, Bai and Cur+Bai (1:1, w/w) were tested in H2O2 (2.5 mM) impaired EA. hy926 cells. Wistar rats were treated with vehicle control as the control group, Goto-Kakizaki rats (n=5 each group) were treated with vehicle control (model group), Cur (150 mg/kg), Bai (150 mg/kg), or Cur+Bai (75 mg/kg Cur + 75 mg/kg Bai, OG) for 4 weeks after a four-week high-fat diet to investigate the changes on blood vessel against diabetic angiopathy. Our results showed that Cur+Bai synergistically restored the endothelial cell survival and exhibited greater effects on lowering the fasting blood glucose and blood lipids in rats comparing to individual compounds. Cur+Bai repaired the blood vessel structure in the aortic arch and mid thoracic aorta. The network pharmacology analysis showed that Nrf2 and MAPK/JNK kinase were highly relevant to the multi-targeted action of Cur+Bai which has been confirmed in the in vitro and in vivo studies. In conclusion, Cur+Bai demonstrated an enhanced activity in attenuating endothelial dysfunction against oxidative damage and effectively protected vascular function in diabetic angiopathy rats.