Objective To investigate the regulatory effect of ferulic acid on hepatic steatosis and intestinal flora in hyperlipidemia mice.
Methods Twenty-four 6-week-old male ApoE-/- mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=6), namely control group, model group, ferulic acid group [40 mg/(kg.d)] and simvastatin group. [5mg/(kg.d)], and another 6 C57BL/6 mice of the same age were selected as blank group. After 12 weeks of high-fat feeding, the mice were treated for another 12 weeks, and the feces of the mice were collected for intestinal flora detection, blood lipid levels were detected, and liver slices were made to observe pathological changes.
Results Compared with the control group, the body weight, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein of the mice in the model group were significantly increased (P<0.05). Hepatocytes showed steatosis, the number of Firmicutes and Veilloncoccus in the model group increased, and the number of Bacteroidetes and Ruminobacteriaceae decreased. Compared with the model group, the body weight, serum TC, TG of the mice in the ferulic acid group increased. , LDL-C significantly reduced hepatic steatosis was significantly reduced, the number of Firmicutes and Veillonella bacteria decreased, the number of Bacteroidetes, Ruminobacteria and Odoribacter increased.
Conclusion Ferulic acid can improve dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and regulate intestinal flora imbalance in mice.