Publications by authors named "J M Zuniga-Hernandez"
Objective: Obesity is associated with liver depletion of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAS) promoting steatosis and inflammation, whose levels are maintained by diet or biosynthesis involving Δ-5D, Δ-6D desaturases and elongases.
Method: We aimed to assess Δ-5D and Δ-6D activities in liver and brain from mice fed a control diet (CD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for four to sixteen weeks.
Results: HFD led to (1) an early (4 weeks) enhancement in liver Δ-5D, Δ-6D, and PPAR-α activities, without changes in oxidative stress, liver damage or fat accumulation; (2) a latter progressive loss in hepatic desaturation with insufficient compensatory increases in mRNA and protein expression, leading to ω-3 PUFA depletion, PPAR-α down-regulation reducing FA oxidation, and liver steatosis with enhancement in lipogenesis; and (3) brain ω-3 PUFA depletion after 12 to 16 weeks of HFD feeding.
Article Synopsis
- A shrub native to the Andean Altiplano is traditionally used by local communities for treating various health issues like diabetes, but its effects on fatty liver disease haven't been studied.
- The study found that certain organic extracts from the shrub contained multiple diterpenoids, including mulinic acid and azorellanol, but their impact was questioned after testing on mice with high-fat diet-induced metabolic dysfunction.
- Results showed that the extracts did not improve liver health; instead, they worsened liver damage indicators, suggesting potential risks for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease.
Obesity is a global health issue characterized by the excessive fat accumulation, leading to an increased risk of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), which can progress from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there are no approved pharmacological protocols for prevention/treatment of MAFLD, and due the complexity lying beneath these mechanisms, monotherapies are unlikely to be efficacious. This review article analyzes the possibility that NCDs can be prevented or attenuated by the combination of bioactive substances, as they could promote higher response rates, maximum reaction results, additive or synergistic effects due to compounds having similar or different mechanisms of action and/or refraining possible side effects, related to the use of lower doses and exposures times than monotherapies.
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