• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.306-311
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• 2005

Semisulospira libertine (SL) has been used as a folk medicine for quenching a thirst, hepatic fever and inflammation in oriental countries. Although SL has been anecdotally ascertained to ameliorate the hepatic diseases, there are no sufficient experimental evidences. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Bitam-S, in which SL is a main component, on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease manifested in C57BL/6J ob/ob mice. At 6 week old, the ob/ob mice were randomly divided into four groups; control and three treatment groups. The control mice was to receive a regular diet, and the treatment groups were fed a regular diet with either 250mg/kg, 500mg/kg of Bitam-S (BS250 and BS500) or 300mg/kg of metformin (MT300) for a 8-week period. Bitam-S exerted beneficial effects on lipid homeostasis in ob/ob mice that are not necessarily due to its ability to decrease food intake but its specific effects on hepatic lipogenesis related genes (SREBP1a, FAS and SCD-1). The combined effects of Bitam-S to reduce body weight and lipogenic gene expressions, and reduce the deposition of triglyceride in the liver are indicative of a marked improvement in obesity-related non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Taken together, Bitam-S has potential as a treatment agent for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and deserves clinical trial in the near future.