Effect of sciadonic acid on hepatic lipid metabolism in obese mice induced by a high-fat diet

Objective: To investigate the potential beneficial effects of sciadonic acid (SA) on improving obesity induced by a high-fat diet in mice. Methods: Forty-eight male C57BL/6 mice were adaptively fed for one week and then randomly divided into the following groups: Control group (C), positive control group (S), model group (M), low-dose sciadonic acid group (LSA), medium-dose sciadonic acid group (MSA), and high-dose sciadonic acid group (HSA). The modeling process lasted for 16 weeks, and the low and high-dose groups were orally administered different doses of SA solution at a fixed time each day. After the modeling period, potential mechanisms of SA in regulating lipid metabolism in obese mice were explored, including aspects such as blood lipid metabolism, hepatic fat metabolism, hepatic oxidative stress, hepatic lipid synthesis, and expression of metabolism-related genes. Results: The high-dose SA intervention in obese mice significantly decreased the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum, while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P<0.05). It inhibited weight gain, reduced epididymal fat accumulation, and improved liver tissue damage. Additionally, SA significantly increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in mice (P<0.05), and significantly reduced the production of oxidative end products MDA (P < 0.05), alleviated oxidative stress in vivo, and inhibited lipid synthesis by regulating the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism to improve lipid metabolism. Conclusion: SA could improve lipid metabolism disorders in obese mice by suppressing fat accumulation, alleviate oxidative stress, regulate lipid synthesis and metabolism.