Evaluation of in vivo and in vitro effectiveness of artichoke leaf water extract on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the world, in which the liver has a fat content of more than 5% of its mass, and is seen in 30% of the adult population. NAFLD is a complex disease that encompasses a wide spectrum of hepatic phenotypes. For this reason, effective treatment strategies, herbal and chemical various drug supports are not available and development is needed. However, in this study, the potential effect of the aqueous extract of artichoke leaf, which is widely used in traditional medicine as a therapeutic agent, on our target disease, NAFLD, was determined in vitro on the NAFLD model created with oleic acid in HepG2 cells, using cell viability, TAS-TOS, molecular genetic techniques, and then its effectiveness was determined. The determined safe dose was determined by performing biochemical, hematological and histopathological evaluations in the NAFLD model, which was created by feeding a high-fat diet on Sprague-Dawley rats. 15 rats were used in the study. Three groups were formed: Group 1 (healthy control n=5), Group 2 (model control n=5), Group 3 (treatment group n=5). Lipid accumulation was observed in the NAFLD model induced by oleic acid exposure in HepG2 cells, and the model was confirmed by ORO staining. In addition, it was determined that the aqueous extract of artichoke leaf increased cell viability, improved oxidative stress and increased antioxidant capacity in the treated groups. In the NAFLD model created in rats fed with high-fat diet, liver parameters increased in the model control groups and improved after treatment. As a result of the findings obtained as a result of this study, it was determined that the aqueous extract of the artichoke leaf has a healing potential against the metabolic disorders caused by NAFLD, and it is believed that it will contribute to the development of new treatment strategies and various pharmacological researches against this disease.