Mechanistic study of italicYugan Formula/italic （余甘方） in alleviating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via lipophagy

Key Points

• The central aim is to investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Yugan Formula on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice.
• Constructed NAFLD model in mice using high-fat diet.
• Divided 45 C57BL/6J mice into normal, model, and low, medium, high dose Yugan Formula groups.
• Measured liver indices, glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance, and serum levels including TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and liver enzymes.
• Conducted pathological analysis via HE and oil red O staining.
• Used Western blot and RT-qPCR to assess protein and gene expression related to autophagy.
• Model group showed significantly increased OGTT, ITT, LDL-C, TG, TC, FFA, ALT, and AST levels compared to normal group (<0.001).
• Significant decreases in HDL-C, CPT1A, LC3B, Atg5, and Beclin1 were noted for the model group (<0.05, <0.001).
• Yugan Formula high-dose group significantly improved these indices, with reductions in ACC, PLIN2, and P62 and enhancements in CPT1A, LC3B, Atg5, and Beclin1 protein expression (<0.05, <0.01, <0.001).