Efeito terapêutico do extrato do caroço do açaí sobre o metabolismo glicídico, as alterações metabólicas, hepáticas e pancreáticas em modelo experimental de obesidade: estudo comparativo com a metformina

Abstract

Obesity is characterized by abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that leads to a systemic and chronic low-grade inflammatory state, which can lead to the development of several metabolic alterations, thus increasing health risks. It is a disease with multifactorial causes, difficult to control and which considerably reduces the quality of life and life expectancy. The literature has shown promising results on the beneficial effects of phenolic compounds present in some foods on the metabolic changes caused by this disease. In search of drugs that act in a less harmful way to the body, the present study aims to evaluate for the first time the therapeutic effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of the açaí seed (ASE), rich in polyphenols such as catechins, anthocyanins, epicatechin, among others, and compare with the effects of Metformin (MET), a hypoglycemic agent used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, on the metabolic and histological alterations of the pancreas and liver. Male C57BL/6 mice aged 3 months were separated into four groups and received the following diets for 14 weeks: Control Group (normolipid diet); Hyperlipidic Group (high-fat diet); Hyperlipidic + ASE Group (high-fat diet + ASE 300 mg/kg); and Hyperlipidic + Metformin Group (high-fat diet + Metformin 300 mg/kg). Treatment with ASE and MET was started from the 10th week and continued until the 14th week. Body weight, caloric intake, and blood glucose were assessed throughout the 14-week period. After euthanasia, the plasma lipid profile and ALT dosage were evaluated by colorimetric assay. Plasma levels of leptin and GLP-1 were evaluated by ELISA and liver glycogen by enzymatic assay. The adiposity index was evaluated based on the weight of adipose tissues in the epididymal, retroperitoneal and subcutaneous compartments and corrected for body mass. Pancreas and liver were isolated and stored in formalin for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Treatments with ASE and MET were able to reduce body weight, adiposity index, dyslipidemia, glycemia, leptin and ALT in plasma, in addition to reducing insulin immunostaining in islets. The treatments were also effective in reducing pancreatic and hepatic steatosis and increasing hepatic glycogen stores. However, our data were inconclusive regarding GLP-1 dosage. The ASE showed results in some of these points that were even more promising than metformin used for positive control, such as weight reduction, total cholesterol, glycemic control, hepatic glycogen metabolism, and also fat deposition in the pancreas and in the liver. liver. Together, these results suggest a promising therapeutic potential of ASE in obesity control, demonstrating hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects, also suggesting that ASE may be an important tool for the treatment of pancreatic and hepatic steatosis present in this model