Quinoa regulates hepatic lipid metabolism in MASLD mice via PPARγ-PLIN2

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) primarily results from excessive nutrient consumption, with lifestyle modifications, particularly dietary interventions, constituting a principal strategy for its management. This study sought to examine the ameliorative effects of a quinoa diet (QD) on hepatic lipid metabolism in mice with MASLD. Six-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a QD for 12 weeks, and age-matched male mice were subjected to a high-fat diet (HFD) to establish obese MASLD models, followed by QD intervention. Compared with the chow diet (CD) group, QD supplementation maintained lower levels of Lee's index, serum AST and ALT, confirming its regulatory effect on hepatic fat accumulation. In MASLD mice, QD supplementation markedly decreased Lee's index, blood glucose, ALT, AST, LDL-C, TC and TG contents. It also downregulated the gene expression of ACC, FAS and SCD-1 as well as the protein levels of PPARγ and PLIN2, thereby alleviating HFD-triggered hepatic lipid metabolism disorders. Lipids and lipid-like molecules were the most significantly altered metabolites in QD-treated mice, accounting for 50.87% of all differential metabolites. Collectively, quinoa demonstrates the capacity to enhance hepatic lipid metabolism in mice with metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), with the PPARγ-PLIN2 signaling pathway potentially serving as a central therapeutic target. These findings indicate that quinoa holds significant promise as a functional food for the intervention and mitigation of MASLD.