Study On The Effect And Mechanism Of Tianma Powder And Gastrodin On Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases which is characterized by hepatic steatosis and accumulation of lipids in the absence of excess alcohol-intake. In China, the prevalence of NAFLD increased greatly in recent years. However, there is still lack of safe and effective medicine that can treat NAFLD specifically. Gastrodia elata B1. is an orchid family of plant which is widely used in clinic to treat nerve system diseases. The major effective component of Gastrodia elata Bl. is gastrodin (GSTD). This study is designed to explore the effects and mechanisms of Gastrodia elata powder and GSTD in the improvement of NAFLD.In the acute toxicity experiment, animals were administered with Gastrodia elata powder tablets for 14 days to examine the death rate and the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) value. In the long-term raising experiment, animals were administered with Gastrodia elata powder tablets for 30 days to observe their influences on body weight, liver function and pathological changes of various organs. In NAFLD-preventing in vivo experiments, rats were intragastrically administrated with fat emulsion to induce liver steatosis. Meanwhile, Gastrodia elata powder or GSTD were administered to the rats for 4 or 3 weeks, respectively. At the end of the experiments, rats were sacrificed, their blood lipids, liver weights, liver function parameters, and hepatic triglyceride (TG) concentrations were determined. Hepatic steatosis was evaluated by H&E staining, liver p-AMPKa level was examined by western blot. For in vitro experiments, cell steatosis was induced by oleic acid (OA) treatment. Intracellular fat accumulation and TG concerntration were examined by oil red O (ORO) staining or colorimetric method respectively. p-AMPKa and p-ACC levels were detected by western blot.Our results showed that in the aspect of safety, Gastrodia elata tablets were grated as non-toxic class with a MTD>15.0g/kg and has no influence on the animal’s body weight, liver function and various organs. For in vivo efficacies, Gastrodia elata powder at 250mg/kg or 525mg/kg can significantly decline the increased liver weight, reduce blood lipids, improve liver function, and decrease hepatic steatosis and TG accumulation in rats with NAFLD. 10mg/kg of GSTD can significantly reduce liver weight, TG accumulation and activate the AMPK pathway in rats with NAFLD. For in vitro experiments, Gastrodia elata powder aqueous extract and GSTD can decrease intracellular fat accumulation and TG concentration which depends on the activation of cellular AMPK/ACC pathway.Our results proved that Gastrodia elata powder and GSTD have significant efficacies in preventing NAFLD. Furthermore, our results indicate for the first time that the activities of Gastrodia elata powder and GSTD against NAFLD were closely related to the activation of AMPK/ACC pathway. Our results will provide reliable experimental data for the clinical application of Gastrodia elata Bl. to treat NAFLD in the future.