L-carnitine prevents hepatic steatosis in deep-frying oil-treated rat Risha Catra Pradhany (a), Ida Bagus Gde Rama Wisesa (b), Ferbian Milas Siswanto (c*)
a) Study Program of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
b) Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, East Java, Indonesia
c) Department of Biotechnology, Dhyana Pura University, Badung 80361, Bali, Indonesia
*ferbianms[at]undhirabali.ac.id
Abstract
Deep-frying oil is a source of free radicals that causes oxidative stress in the body and lead to chronic and degenerative diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver or NAFLD. Steatosis, or fatty liver, is one of NAFLD and is a common result of moderate to severe hepatocellular insult. L-Carnitine involves in the metabolism of fat and has a potential role as an antioxidant. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of L-Carnitine in deep-frying oil-treated rats. Thirty-six experimentally naive male Wistar albino rats (3-4 months old, weighing 180-200 g) were divided randomly into three groups: control untreated (C) group (n= 12, without any treatment), negative control (NC) group (n= 12, deep-frying oil of 0.42 ml/rat/day for 3 weeks), and L-Carnitine treatment (T) group (n= 12, deep-frying oil of 0.42 ml/rat/day, and L-Carnitine dose of 30 mg/kg/day for 3 weeks). The results showed that the number of hepatic steatosis in the NC group was higher than in both C and T groups. Furthermore, L-Carnitine significantly decreased hepatic TG content (p <0.01). L-Carnitine increased the expression of hepatic SOD, CAT and GPx (p <0.05). Additionally, the serum ALT and AST levels were significantly lower in the T group compared to the NC group, and both serum and hepatic MDA levels were also lower (p <0.01 for all). Thus, this study suggests that L-Carnitine prevents the development of hepatic steatosis and oxidative damage, as well as improves the hepatic antioxidant defenses.
