Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Incorporation of a Survivable Liver Biopsy Procedure in Mice to Assess Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis NASH Resolution
Published on: April 16, 2019
Creosote bush-derived NDGA attenuates molecular and pathological changes in a novel mouse model of non-alcoholic
Lu Han1, Stefanie Bittner2, Dachuan Dong1
1Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, CA, USA; Division of Endocrinology, Gerontology and Metabolism, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)-derived nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) was shown to have profound effects on the core components of metabolic syndrome. This study investigated the in vivo potential of NDGA for prevention or attenuation of the pathophysiologic abnormalities of NASH. A novel dietary NASH model with feeding C57BL/6J mice with a high trans-fat, high cholesterol and high fructose (HTF) diet, was used. The HTF diet fed mice exhibited obesity, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, inflammation, ER stress, oxidative stress, and liver injury. NDGA attenuated these metabolic abnormalities as well as hepatic steatosis and fibrosis together with attenuated expression of genes encoding fibrosis, progenitor and macrophage markers with no effect on the levels of mRNAs for lipogenic enzymes. NDGA increased expression of fatty acid oxidation genes. In conclusion, NDGA exerts anti-NASH/anti-fibrotic actions and raises the therapeutic potential of NDGA for treatment of NASH patients with fibrosis and other associated complications.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Models
Transcription Attenuation in Prokaryotes
There are several different mechanisms used to attenuate transcription. In ribosome mediated...
Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
Kinetic Molecular Theory: Molecular Velocities, Temperature, and Kinetic Energy
Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.
Protection of Alcohols
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...

