Hepatoprotective Constituents of Macrocybe gigantea (Agaricomycetes) from India.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent, chronic liver diseases worldwide and currently has no specific therapy. Our previous study indicated the anti-NAFLD effect of Macrocybe gigantea (Massee) Pegler & Lodge in high-fat diet-fed animals. This study aimed to isolate and identify the active hepatoprotective constituents from M. gigantea using fatty acid induced steatotic HepG2 cells as in vitro model. The effect of the test materials on the viability of HepG2 cells was analyzed using MTT assay. The HepG2 cells were treated with a mixture of palmitate-oleate to induce steatosis; after 24 h of treatment with the test materials, the intracellular lipid content was estimated using Oil Red O staining. The levels of transaminases were also estimated in the spent media. Bioassay-guided isolation of hepatoprotective constituents from M. gigantea yielded two compounds viz., ergosterol and linoleic acid; their structures were confirmed using spectroscopic data. Among these two compounds, ergosterol significantly lowered the levels of intracellular triglyceride content of fatty acid induced HepG2 cells; it also lowered the leakage of transaminases. The reductions caused by linoleic acid were not statistically significant at the tested concentrations. Detailed investigations on efficacy and safety of these compounds and M. gigantea might yield some useful leads for the management of NAFLD.