Salvianolic acid B ameliorates hepatocyte lipid droplet accumulation via stimulation of autophagy

Abstract Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) the most abundant bioactive member in Salvia miltiorrhiza and has been reported lots of benefits on the treatment of cardio-cerebral vascular diseases and metabolic diseases. Lipid droplets are dynamic organelles, excessive lipid droplets accumulation in liver caused fatty liver disease. In this study, we are interested in the effect of Sal B on hepatic lipid accumulation and its possible mechanism. We found Sal B treatment significantly decreased lipid accumulation and TG level in primary hepatocytes. Meanwhile, we discovered Sal B significantly stimulated hepatic autophagy. Then we used autophagy inhibitor 3-MA and reveled that Sal B showed little effect on improving hepatic lipid accumulation when autophagy was inhibited, which indicated Sal B reduced cellular lipid accumulation through activating autophagy. This study demonstrates Sal B ameliorate hepatic lipid accumulation through activation of autophagy. These findings contribute to its benefit on liver disease related to hepatic lipid accumulation and hepatic autophagy.