Silibinin ameliorated lipid accumulation through insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway in HGI Caenorhabditis elegans

Although silibinin (SIL), from milk thistle, has been reported to promise health promotion and disease treatment, the potential mechanism of SIL in improving obesity is still unknown. The fat accumulation was decreased by 78 and 49% in cellular and high glucose-induced Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models. The decreased lipid droplets in both average size and quantity in the cytoplasm of the liver and epididymal white adipose tissues were obtained by histology (hematoxylin and eosin) experiments. The promoted health effects in lifespan, stress ability, antioxidant ability, changed lipofuscin accumulation, pharyngeal pumping rate, and aging-related indexes of exercise were also confirmed. The increased expressions of daf-2, akt-1, daf-16, and skn-1, combined with the downstream target genes of insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling-mediated mammalian target of rapamycin signaling factors (pha-4, hlh-30, lgg-1, and unc-51) and adipose-related factors (nhr-49, fat-5, fat-6, and fat-7) in C. elegans were verified through the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling pathway. SIL was proposed as a potential adjuvant remedy or nutraceutical for improving obesity and promoting health.