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. 2018 Mar;8(1):97-105.
doi: 10.15171/apb.2018.012. Epub 2018 Mar 18.

The Eeffect of Metformin Combined with Calcium-Vitamin D3 Against Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Sara Shojaei Zarghani  1 , Samin Abbaszadeh  2 , Mohammad Alizadeh  3 , Maryam Rameshrad  4 , Alireza Garjani  4 , Hamid Soraya  2
Affiliations

The Eeffect of Metformin Combined with Calcium-Vitamin D3 Against Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Sara Shojaei Zarghani et al. Adv Pharm Bull. 2018 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Erratum: Correction of Title.
    Shojaei Zarghani S, Abbaszadeh S, Alizadeh M, Rameshrad M, Garjani A, Soraya H. Shojaei Zarghani S, et al. Adv Pharm Bull. 2021 Jan;11(1):205. doi: 10.34172/apb.2021.089. Epub 2020 Nov 7. Adv Pharm Bull. 2021. PMID: 33747869 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Purpose: Metformin is one of the most popular drugs tested against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The present study aimed to investigate whether calcium-vitamin D3 cosupplementation will intensify the effect of metformin on the prevention of high-fat, high-fructose (HFFr) diet-induced hepatic steatosis. Methods: Male wistar rats (210±16 g) were assigned into the following seven groups: a Control group to receive a standard chow and six HFFr-fed groups to receive diets containing either normal (0.5% calcium and 1000 IU/kg vitamin D3) or high amount of calcium and vitamin D3 (2.4% calcium and 10000 IU/kg vitamin D3) (CaD), in combination with gastric gavage administration of either saline or 25 or 200 mg/kg body weight/day metformin. After 60 days, rats were assessed with respect to their anthropometric, metabolic and hepatic parameters, as well as their hepatic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation. Results: Metformin and CaD, either alone or in combination, caused a significant reduction in HFFr diet-induced high serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), hepatic steatosis and lipid accumulation without effect on insulin resistance and AMPK phosphorylation. In addition, slightly (and non-significantly) better effects of the combination in ameliorating steatosis and hepatic cholesterol content were observed. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest that metformin and CaD could protect against the onset of HFFr diet-induced NAFLD in an insulin and AMPK-independent manner, without any marked additional benefits of their combination.

Keywords: AMP-activated protein kinase; Calcium; Metformin; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Vitamin D3.

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