Anti-steatotic and anti-inflammatory roles of syringic acid in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

This study examined the effects of syringic acid (SA) on obese diet-induced hepatic dysfunction. Mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) with or without SA (0.05%, wt/wt) for 16 weeks. SA reduced the body weight, visceral fat mass, serum levels of leptin, TNFα, IFNγ, IL-6 and MCP-1, insulin resistance, hepatic lipid content, droplets and early fibrosis, whereas it elevated the circulation of adiponectin. SA down-regulated lipogenic genes ( Cidea , Pparγ , Srebp-1c , Srebp-2 , Hmgcr , Fasn ) and inflammatory genes ( Tlr4 , Myd88 , NF-κB , Tnfα , Il6 ), whereas it up-regulated fatty acid oxidation genes ( Pparα , Acsl , Cpt1 , Cpt2 ) in the liver. SA also decreased hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities and elevated fatty acid oxidation enzyme activities relative to the HFD group. These findings suggested that dietary SA possesses anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-steatotic effects via the regulation of lipid metabolic and inflammatory genes. SA is likely to be a new natural therapeutic agent for obesity or non-alcoholic liver disease. This study examined the effects of syringic acid (SA) on obese diet-induced hepatic dysfunction.