Suppressive effects of germinated buckwheat on development of fatty liver in mice fed with high-fat diet

Effects of buckwheat germinated for 48 h in suppressing fatty liver were investigated using an animal study. Concentration of rutin was increased more than 10 times, with production of quercitrin and one newly formed flavonoid during 48 h germination. When an ethanol extract of germinated buckwheat was fed daily to C57BL/6 mice at 100 or 200 mg/kg body wt, along with a high-fat diet, oral administration of germinated buckwheat caused significant reductions in TG and TC levels in the liver after 8 weeks. Oral administration of germinated buckwheat also down-regulated mRNA expressions of PPARγ and C/EBPα in hepatocytes, in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that germinated buckwheat has potent anti-fatty liver activities caused partially by suppressing the gene expression of certain adipogenic transcription factors like PPARγ and C/EBPα in hepatocytes.