Ovothiol-A Mitigates High-Fat Diet-Induced Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats

Background: Obesity is frequently linked to multiple comorbid and chronic illnesses, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Ovothiol-A is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants found in marine invertebrates like sea urchins. Objective: The current study aimed to investigate ovothiol-A's hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic potential in obese rats. Methods: All groups get a high-fat diet (HFD) for four weeks except for the control group. The control and HFD groups received distilled water, while the Ovothiol-A groups received two doses of Ovothiol-A (200 and 400 mg/kg orally) concurrent with HFD. Results: Weight gain, glucose, insulin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide were all decreased after oral administration of Ovo at either the 200 or 400 mg/kg dose, while levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), glutathionereduced, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase increased. Histopathological alterations were less noticeable in the liver tissue of Ovothiol-A groups, with only a few vacuolated or pyknotic nuclei amongst a few dispersed hepatocytes. Conclusion: The current findings indicate that ovothiol-A protects against high-fat diet-induced fatty liver in rats. The anti-obesity mechanism of Ovothiol-A is associated with its hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and antioxidant properties.