Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Combating steatohepatitis is crucial since it may progress to liver carcinoma and may induce liver failure and cardiovascular diseases. The present study evaluated the protective effect of some nutraceuticals towards steatohepatitis. A steatohepatitis experiment was set in which rats were divided into seven groups, the first served as healthy control. Steatohepatitis was induced in the other six groups using high fructose-saturated fat diet (HFFD), one of the groups served as fatty liver control. The other test groups received daily oral doses of either basil oil, basil nanoemulsion, probiotic mixture (Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium breve), gum Arabic, or ursodeoxycholic acid. Firmicutes (F) and Bacteriodetes (B) phyla were counted in colon content and the ratio (F/B) was calculated. L. plantarum and B. breve of colon content were also counted. Liver total fat, plasma lipopolysaccharides (LPS), plasma interlukin-6 (IL-6), plasma lipocalin 2 (LCN2), LCN2 in colon content, and plasma lipid profile were assessed along with histopathological examination of liver and colon. Significant increase in plasma IL-6, LCN2 of plasma and colon content, and F/B ratio was seen in the fatty liver control group without change in plasma LPS compared to the healthy control group. Fatty liver control group also exhibited significant deterioration in liver fat and plasma lipid profile compared to the healthy control

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