Zingiberene attenuates high fat diet–induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through suppression of lipogenesis and oxidative stress in rats

The current study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Zingiberene (ZB) against high-fat-diet (HFD)–induced obesity and its associated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD model was developed in rats by supplementation of HFD (20 g daily) initially for 15 weeks and 16th week onwards treated with ZB (50 mg/kg BW) for the period of 45 days. We evaluated the effects of ZB on glucose homeostasis, lipid profiles in both blood and tissue, and lipogenesis along with oxidative stress markers in liver. HFD supplementation significantly caused hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance thereby altered both circulatory and tissue lipids. At the same time, lipogenesis and oxidative stress in liver was noted in obese rats. On the other hand, supplementation of ZB (50 mg/kg BW) to obese rats successfully attenuated hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperlipidemia in both blood and liver. ZB also regulated the activities of lipid metabolic marker enzymes (carnitine palmitoyl transferase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and HMG CoA reductase) and suppressed oxidative stress via enhancement of activities of SOD, catalase, and GPx along with GSH content elevation in the liver. In conclusion, this study suggests that ZB supplementation might ameliorate the obesity-associated NAFLD via attenuation of elevated lipogenesis and oxidative stress in liver. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.