Antioxidants, Atalantia ceylanica, Hepatoprotective, High-fat diet, Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Other systems of medicine, RZ201-999

Abstract Background Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which was formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a global epidemic that is predicted to affect more than 50% of the world population by 2040. However, except for Resmetiron, there are no approved drugs in conventional medicine to treat MASLD. The aim of this study was to explore the hepatoprotective effects of the aqueous extracts (AEs) of Osbeckia octandra (O. octandra), Vernonia cinerea (V. cinerea), and Atalantia ceylanica (A. ceylanica) which have been extensively used to treat hepatic diseases in the Sri Lankan traditional medicine. Methods During initial in vitro experiments, aqueous extracts (AEs) of these three medicinal plants were prepared and evaluated for antioxidant potential using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) assay. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTT assay on Vero cells to determine non-toxic doses for in vivo studies. For in vivo experiments, a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced MASLD mouse model was used. After co-treating the mice with AEs of the tested medicinal plants, their body weight gain was evaluated. Serum ALT, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were analyzed using standard chemical methods. Hepatic lipid aggregation was evaluated by histopathology. Expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and PPAR-α genes was quantified using qRT-PCR. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test or LSD test. The level of significance was (p