P452 - FREE VS. NANO-BERBERINE: EFFECTS ON LIVER HEALTH IN MICE

P452

FREE VS. NANO-BERBERINE: EFFECTS ON LIVER HEALTH IN MICE

A. Alpaslan^1,*, K. Uçar Baş², Z. Göktaş¹

¹Hacettepe University, Ankara, ²Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye, Türkiye

Rationale: Berberine (BBR) is believed to have positive effects on liver steatosis and inflammation. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of intravenously administered nano-BBR, designed to enhance its stability and bioavailability, on liver steatosis and inflammatory markers in female C57BL/6J mice.

Methods: Twenty-four female C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to four treatment groups. All mice were fed a high-fat diet (60% from fat) for 10 weeks, followed by tail vein injections of treatments in addition to the diet for another 10 weeks. The treatment groups were free-BBR (10 µM), nano-BBR (10 µM), void, and control (PBS). At the end of the study, the protein concentration of TNF-α, as indicator of inflammation, and FXR and SREBP-1c, as markers of liver steatosis, were analyzed in the liver tissues of mice using the ELISA method. SPSS was used for statistical analysis.

Results: The protein concentration of TNF-α, a pro-inflammatory marker, did not differ among mice receiving different treatments (p>0.05). The highest TNF-α protein concentration was observed in the control group, while the lowest was in the void group. The protein concentrations of FXR and SREBP-1c were also not significantly different among the treatment groups (p>0.05). The highest FXR protein concentration was found in the control group, while the lowest was observed in the free-BBR group. The highest SREBP-1c protein concentration was observed in the control group, while the lowest was found in the nano-BBR group.

Conclusion: Although there were no statistically significant differences in the protein concentrations of TNF-α, FXR, and SREBP-1c among the treatment groups, a trend toward lower SREBP-1c levels in the nano-BBR group may suggest a potential effect of nano-berberine on hepatic lipid metabolism. Further studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to clarify these observations.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared