Dietary d-allose ameliorates hepatic inflammation in mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by excess lipid accumulation and inflammation in hepatocytes. In this study, to provide insight into the preventive effects of d-allose, a rare sugar, on the onset of NASH, we designed animal experiments using male STAM mice treated with streptozotocin and fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Experiments were initiated when the mice reached 5 weeks of age and lasted 3 weeks. After the 3-week protocol, mice fed the HFD containing d-allose exhibited significantly decreased serum alanine aminotransferase levels, hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation, and improved nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score compared to mice fed HFD without d-allose ( p < 0.05). Further, hepatic mRNA expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (Srebp-1) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (Mcp-1) was lower in mice fed d-allose. These results suggested that d-allose prevented NASH by blocking hepatic lipid accumulation and progressive inflammation.