Plant-Based Functional Formulae Mitigate Western Diet-Induced MASLD by Modulating Hepatic Oxidative Stress,...

Psyllium has long been used to improve satiety and control weight. Leek and dill leaves are abundant in bioactive substances that have been confirmed to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Our goal was to assess the hepatoprotective effects of two formulae (dill and psyllium or leek and psyllium) against oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) rat model. Twenty four rats were used in this study. Rats were given a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HF/HS), a Western diet, to create a MASLD model. The two formulae showed lower levels of serum alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, as well as a preventive effect against obesity, as shown by lower levels of leptin (with changes of 60.57 and 67.14%, respectively) and body weight gain (with changes of 25.57 and 29.04%, respectively). The two formulae resulted in a reduction in blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, oxidative markers, and inflammatory markers upon feeding on the HF/HS diet. The histological evaluation in rats treated with the two formulae revealed reduced hepatic vacuolization and lobular inflammation. The two formulations reduced the mRNA expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) while increasing the mRNA expression of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). The results indicated the potential efficacy of the two prepared formulations in alleviating and preventing MASLD in the rat model evaluated.