Extracts of bilberry fruits improve liver steatosis. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Bilberry has been reported to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We studied the effect of bilberry (L.) fruits extracts (BEs) on the pathogenesis caused by lipid accumulation in fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). 5μg/ml of BEs was enough to suppress lipid accumulation in the fatty liver model of the mouse hepatic AML12 cells. BEs increased cell viability and anti-oxidant capacity, presumably by activating (phosphorylating) Akt/STAT3 and inducing MnSOD/catalase. BEs also significantly reduced Rubicon and induced p62/SQSTM1, possibly contributing to reduce cellular lipids (lipophagy). When the mice were fed supplemented with BEs (5% or 10%, w/w), hepatic steatosis, injury, and hypercholesterolemia/hyperglycemia were significantly improved. Furthermore, histological and cytokine studies indicated that BEspossibly suppress hepatic inflammation (hepatitis) and fibrosis. Therefore, BEs improved liver steatosis and injury, and potentially suppress fibrosis by suppressing inflammatory response, which therefore may prevent the progression of fatty liver to NASH.