Study of The Effect of Linagliptin, Metformin and Silymarin on Experimentally-Induced Non- Alcholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is composed of hepatic abnormalities ranging from intrahepatic fat accumulation (steatosis or NAFL) to necrotic inflammation.Aim: To study the therapeutic effect of linagliptin, metformin, and silymarin on induced NAFLD.Methods: In this study, a model of NAFLD was experimentally induced in male albino rats by oral administration of a high-fat diet (HFD) for 2 months, followed by another 4 weeks during which the rats received HFD and the medical treatment. This study was conducted on 50 male albino rats each weighting 100-120 grams under the same housing situations and divided into 5 groups, group (I) serving as negative control group, group (II) serving as NAFLD control group, group (III) was on Linagliptin, group (IV) was on Metformin and group (V) was on Silymarin.Results: Body weight (BW), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), random blood glucose (RBG), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), malondialdehyde (MDA), Serum triglycerides (TGs), Total serum cholesterol (TC) and liver TG were increased significantly in rats receiving HFD only, but they decreased in rats treated with linagliptin, metformin and silymarin. Linagliptin and metformin significantly decreased the previous parameters more than silymarin. Histopathological study revealed that HFD produced an extensive grade of microvesicular and macrovesicular steatosis and hepatocellular ballooning with frequent foci of inflammatory cells and marked portal fibrosis. Administration of linagliptin, metformin, and silymarin ameliorated these histopathological changes.Conclusion: Metformin was particularly effective in improving metabolic and liver function markers. Silymarin also showed beneficial effects, but to a lesser degree than linagliptin and metformin.