Curcumin, quercetin and atorvastatin protected against the hepatic fibrosis by activating AMP-activated protein kinase

We examined the effects of curcumin, quercetin, and atorvastatin on the hepatic fibrosis through measurement of the protein levels of phospho-AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and phospho-acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p-ACC) and gene expression of lipogenic genes in bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced fibrotic rats. We divided male Wistar rats into 8 groups (n = 8 for each), four of which were sham and the remaining four received BDL operations. Each rat in the sham or BDL groups was administered quercetin (30 mg/kg/day), curcumin (100 mg/kg) or atorvastatin (15 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. We found that curcumin, quercetin, and atorvastatin treatment led to up-regulation of p-AMPK and carnitine palmitoyl transferase (CPT1a). However, they suppressed the BDL-mediated increase in sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), ACC1, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and beta hydroxy beta methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) gene expression (P<.05). In summary, we found that curcumin, quercetin, and atorvastatin protected against the hepatic fibrosis by reducing hepatic fat accumulation via AMPK up-regulation.