Ethanol Extract of <i>Dichrostachys glomerata</i> Fruit Pods (Dyglomera^®) Prevents Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice via AMPK Activation

This study was aimed to investigate the protective effects of Dyglomera , an aqueous ethanol extract from the fruit pods of Dichrostachys glomerata, against obesity-related non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice.Male C57BL/6J mice were fed an HFD for seven weeks to induce obesity, followed by oral supplementation with Dyglomera at doses of 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg for an additional seven weeks.Dyglomera supplementation significantly reduced hepatic lipid droplet accumulation and liver weight, and improved hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol levels.Mechanistically, Dyglomera suppressed the hepatic expression of lipogenic proteins including sterol regulatory elementbinding protein 1c, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fatty acid synthase, while enhancing expression of -oxidation-related proteins such as carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor , and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- coactivator-1.Furthermore, Dyglomera restored phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) levels, indicating reactivation of the hepatic energy-sensing pathway.These findings suggest that Dyglomera alleviates hepatic steatosis by modulating lipid metabolism via the AMPK pathway and may serve as an effective health functional food ingredient for the prevention and management of obesity-related NAFLD.