Hepatic Lipidomics Analysis Reveals the Ameliorative Effects of Highland Barley β-Glucan on Western Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mice

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by marked imbalances in lipid storage and metabolism. Because the beneficial health effects of cereal β-glucan (BG) include lowering cholesterol and regulating lipid metabolism, BG may alleviate the imbalances in lipid metabolism observed during NAFLD. The aim of our study was to investigate whether BG from highland barley has an effect on western diet-induced NAFLD in mice. Using lipidomics, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of BG intervention, and identified potential lipid biomarkers. The results reveal that BG (300 mg/kg body weight) significantly alleviated liver steatosis. Lipidomics analysis demonstrated that BG also altered lipid metabolic patterns. We were able to identify 13 differentially regulated lipid species that may be useful as lipid biomarkers. Several genes in the hepatic lipid and cholesterol metabolism pathways were also modulated. These findings provide evidence that BG ameliorates NAFLD by altering liver lipid metabolites and regulating lipid metabolism-related genes.