Antihepatic Fibrosis Effect of Active Components Isolated from Green Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) Involves the Inactivation of Hepatic Stellate Cells.

Green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a vegetable with numerous nutritional properties. In the current study, a total of 23 compounds were isolated from green asparagus, and 9 of these compounds were obtained from this genus for the first time. Preliminary data showed that the ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-extracted fraction of green asparagus exerted a stronger inhibitory effect on the growth of t-HSC/Cl-6 cells, giving an IC50 value of 45.52 µg/mL. The biological activities of the different compounds isolated from the EtOAc-extracted fraction with respect to antihepatic fibrosis were investigated further. Four compounds, C3, C4, C10, and C12, exhibited profound inhibitory effect on the activation of t-HSC/Cl-6 cells induced by TNF-α. The activation t-HSC/Cl-6 cells, which led to the production of fibrotic matrix (TGF-ß1, activin C) and accumulation of TNF-α, was dramatically decreased by these compounds. The mechanisms by which these compounds inhibited the activation of hepatic stellate cells appeared to be associated with the inactivation of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling and c-Jun N-terminal kinases, as well as the ERK phosphorylation cascade.

Effects of Callistephus chinensis flower polyphones on improving metabolic disorders in high-fat diet-induced mice.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Callistephus chinensis flower (CCF) polyphones on symptoms of metabolic syndrome in a newly developed high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mouse model. C57BL/6J mice were fed a high fat diet (HFD; 50% energy as fat) with normal drinking fluid or HFD with CCF polyphones (50 mg L(-1) or 100 mg L(-1)) in drinking fluid for 12 weeks. As a comparison, mice fed a normal-fat (NFD; 10% energy as fat) and with normal drinking fluid were also included. The HFD group developed more severe symptoms of metabolic syndrome than the NFD group. CCF polyphones treatment significantly reduced fecal lipids compared to the HFD group, suggesting a strong indication of improved lipid metabolism. Liver damage and liver triglyceride levels were also decreased by CCF polyphones treatment. Moreover, both morphologic and histological detections indicated that CCF polyphones significantly reversed HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and liver injury. Furthermore, CCF polyphones significantly ameliorated both HFD-induced metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, and inflammatory cytokines, including interlukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Moreover, hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARα) and the gene involved in PPARα, Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX), were markedly up-regulated at protein levels by CCF polyphones. Our results demonstrate that the HFD produces metabolic syndrome of NAFLD, and CCF polyphones treatment can alleviate these symptoms. The beneficial effects of CCF polyphones are associated with improved lipid metabolism and reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines.