Nesrine Semiane; Aicha Mallek; Zineb Bellahreche; Khadidja Mokeddem; Ouahiba Sihali-Beloui & Yasmina Dahmani

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of an obesogenic diet on biochemical and histopathological changes in the liver of gerbils, and to evaluate the potential curative effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in the same animal. Eighteen male gerbils were divided into three groups: a control group (C) fed a control diet (carrots and lettuce), obese group fed a high-calorie diet (HC) consists of a mixture of butter (20 %), barley flour (30 %) and dry dates (50 %) for 3 months and a third group (HC-20E) receiving the same obesogenic diet but supplemented with 20-hydroxyecdysone at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight starting from the 8th week and continuing for 4 weeks. Compared to control animals, HC-fed gerbils showed metabolic disorders accompanied by a remodeling of liver tissue characterized by the development of steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis and enhanced oxidative stress, which are key contributors to NASH development. The present study revealed that 20E supplementation to the diet is responsible for hepatoprotective effects through abolished liver steatosis, markers of fibrosis and inflammation and through the inhibition of ROS and activation of antioxidant mechanisms. Our research suggests that 20E may represent a suitable natural compound that prevents progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

KEY WORDS: High-fat/high-carbohydrate diet; Gerbil; Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; 20-Hydroxyecdysone.

SEMIANE,N.;MALLEK,A.;BELLAHRECHE,Z.;MOKEDDEM,K.;SIHALI-BELOUI,O.&DAHMANI,Y. Hepatoprotective effects of 20-Hydroxyecdysone in high-fat/high carbohydrate-fed gerbil. Int. J. Morphol., 44(3):871-880, 2026.