Dietary açai attenuates hepatic steatosis via adiponectin-mediated effects on lipid metabolism in high-fat diet mice

• Main Authors: Joyce Ferreira da Costa Guerra, Poliane Silva Maciel, Isabel Cristina Mallosto Emerich de Abreu, Renata Rebeca Pereira, Maisa Silva, Leandro de Morais Cardoso, Helena Maria Pinheiro-Sant'Ana, Wanderson Geraldo de Lima, Marcelo Estáquio Silva, Maria Lúcia Pedrosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2015-04-01
• Series: Journal of Functional Foods
• Subjects: Euterpe oleracea mart; Anthocyanins; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Insulin resistance; Adipokines; Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464615000298

Polyphenols, especially anthocyanins, have been considered promising for the prevention of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study investigated whether açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), a source of anthocyanins and recognized as one of the new “superfruits”, could alleviate high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD in mice. In HFD mice, aqueous açai extract (AAE) administration (3 g/kg) for six weeks improved insulin resistance index and increased adiponectin mRNA expression in adipose tissue and serum levels. Furthermore, AAE decreased the total liver triacylglycerol content and attenuated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. This reduced hepatic lipid content was associated with AAE-mediated up-regulation of genes involved in adiponectin signaling, including adiponectin receptor 2, PPAR-α, and its target gene, carnitine palmitoyltransferase. Thus, dietary açai can protect liver from steatosis through its enhancement of adiponectin levels, improvement of insulin sensitivity, and increase in PPAR-α-mediated fatty acid oxidation.