Protective Effect of Sea Buckthorn (Hipphophae Rhamnoides) Extract on Liver Injury Induced by High-Fat Diet in Mice.

ABSTRACT

This experiment aimed to investigate the protective effect of sea buckthorn (Hipphophae rhamnoides) extract on an animal model of NAFLD induced by high-fat and cholesterol diet. Twenty-five SPF-grade male KM mice were randomly divided into the blank control group, high-fat model group, sea-buckthorn low-dose group, sea-buckthorn medium-dose group, and sea-buckthorn high-dose group. During the whole experiment, the high-fat model group and sea-buckthorn treatment group were fed high-fat and high-cholesterol diet to build the fatty liver model, whereas the blank control group was fed ordinary diet. The high-fat model group and blank control group were intragastrically given normal saline, and each sea buckthorn treatment group was intragastrically given different concentrations of sea buckthorn extract. After 5 weeks of intervention using the abovementioned method, the experiment was completed; relevant serological indexes were determined, and the liver coefficient was calculated. Our results demonstrated that the liver coefficient in the high-dose sea buckthorn group was extremely significantly decreased (P < 0.01) compared with that in the high-fat model group. In addition, the concentration of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum of mice was decreased by the intervention of sea buckthorn extract, whereas the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was increased. Significant differences were observed between the sea-buckthorn high-dose treatment group and the high-fat model group (P < 0.05). The extracts of sea buckthorn had a certain protective effect on non-alcoholic fatty liver. This study lays an important foundation in developing and using sea buckthorn extract as a clinical drug and guiding people to take health care products reasonably.