Study the protective efficacy of α-Bisabolol on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by high-fat diet in C57/BL6 mice

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition that manifests in varying degrees, from accumulation of fat to liver inflammation and injury, progression to fibrosis, and ultimately cirrhosis. α-bisabolol has gained a lot of interest because of its pharmacological properties. However, its potential protective effects on NAFLD haven't been investigated yet. This research aims to examine the protective efficacy of α-Bisabolol on a mouse model of NAFLD. For induction of NAFLD in C57BL/6 mice, a high-fat diet (HFD) was used for a period of 16 weeks. α-Bisabolol was administered in two different doses (50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg)) with HFD for 16 weeks. Liver injury was evaluated by liver index, biochemical assays, hepatic histological changes, and liver triglyceride (TG) content. Oxidative stress and inflammatory status in the hepatic tissue along with hepatic Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein 1C (SREBP-1C) levels were also studied. The results revealed that α-Bisabolol in a high dose (100 mg/kg) significantly decreased liver index and effectively enhanced the liver function by decreasing serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Moreover, α-Bisabolol in a high dose lowered the levels of TG in serum. In addition, it attenuated hepatic steatosis and inflammation as well as decreased liver TG content. Additionally, it significantly inhibited oxidative stress and the inflammatory response, as well as downregulated hepatic SREBP-1c expression. This study found that α-Bisabolol can protect mice from NAFLD caused by high-fat diet by inhibiting lipogenesis, reducing inflammation, and mitigating oxidative stress.