Abstract:This study aimed to investigate whether oil tea (OT) could protect against hepatic damage induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in rats. In this experiment, 50 rats were randomly divided into five groups, including the untreated control group, HFD control group, and low, medium, and high-dose OT groups, with 10 rats in each group. After the HFD-modeling period of 15 days and OT administration of 32 d, blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta, and livers were harvested simultaneously. Liver weights were recorded and histopathologic slides were prepared and observed. The activities of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) in serum, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the serum and liver were measured. The results showed that compared with the HFD control group, the liver index of OT groups was significantly decreased(p < 0.05), ALT and AST activities in serum were significantly reduced (p<0.05), SOD and GSH-Px activities in the serum and liver were significantly increased, and the level of MDA was significantly lowered (p<0.05). Hepatic histopathology indicated that OT could relieve hepatic steatosis in rats. These results demonstrate that OT can alleviate hepatic hypertrophy, enhance the body’s anti-lipid peroxidation ability, relieve fatty degeneration of liver, and exert a protective effect on hepatic damage in HFD rats. In addition, the most effective group was the high-dose OT group.
