Thymus atlanticus Supplementation Attenuates Hepatic Steatosis in High-Fat Diet Fed Guinea Pigs

ABSTRACT

The protective effect of Thymus atlanticus aqueous extracts against hepatic steatosis and hyperlipidemia in high-fat diet (HFD) fed guinea pigs was evaluated. Twenty-four male guinea pigs were randomly divided into four groups and orally administered daily for 3 months with a normal basal diet for the normal control group, normal basal diet supplemented with thyme extract (400 mg kg⁻¹) for extract-treated group, HFD group, or HFD supplemented with thyme extract (400 mg kg⁻¹) group. The results showed that HFD intake elevated blood and hepatic lipids and altered the markers and histology of the liver. The administration of T. atlanticus extract decreased liver weight (−26.61%) and plasmatic and hepatic lipids (cholesterol: −54.05%; triglycerides: −43.91%), compared to the HFD group. Additionally, thyme extract improved the altered hepatic markers and reduced hepatocyte ballooning and lipid droplets accumulation. Our findings suggest that the dietary intake of T. atlanticus aqueous extract could prevent the development of hepatic steatosis.

KEYWORDS:

• Thymus atlanticus (Ball) Roussine
• high-fat diet
• Steatosis
• hepato-protection
• guinea pigs

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge their institutions for the technical support. This work was funded by CNRST.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, experimental section, and analysis were performed by [Chakib Alem], [Hamza Elbouny], [Oussama Bekkouch], [Amal Bennani] and [Brahim Ouahzizi]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Hamza Elbouny] and [Khalid Sellam], [Mhamed Ramchoun], and [Souliman Amrani] reviewed, commented, and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Ethical statement

Animals were handled in accordance with the guidelines for use of laboratory animals of the pharmacological research committee, FSTE, Moulay Ismail University (AREC-FSTE-12/2020).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by CNRST.