Plant-Based Functional Formulae Mitigate Western Diet-Induced MASLD by Modulating Hepatic Oxidative Stress, Inflammation as Well as Nrf-2/HO-1 and NF-κB Gene Expression

Abstract

Psyllium has long been used to improve satiety and control weight. Leek and dill leaves are abundant in bioactive substances that have been confirmed to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Our goal was to assess the hepatoprotective effects of two formulae (dill and psyllium or leek and psyllium) against oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) rat model. Twenty four rats were used in this study. Rats were given a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HF/HS), a Western diet, to create a MASLD model. The two formulae showed lower levels of serum alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, as well as a preventive effect against obesity, as shown by lower levels of leptin (with changes of 60.57 and 67.14%, respectively) and body weight gain (with changes of 25.57 and 29.04%, respectively). The two formulae resulted in a reduction in blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, oxidative markers, and inflammatory markers upon feeding on the HF/HS diet. The histological evaluation in rats treated with the two formulae revealed reduced hepatic vacuolization and lobular inflammation. The two formulations reduced the mRNA expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) while increasing the mRNA expression of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). The results indicated the potential efficacy of the two prepared formulations in alleviating and preventing MASLD in the rat model evaluated.