ArticleBMC gastroenterology2026
Bioactive folate attenuates valproic acid-induced NAFLD in female rats.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a key contributor to chronic liver diseases. It is defined as hepatic fat accumulation in ≥ 5% of hepatocytes in individuals with minimal or no alcohol consumption and no other identifiable causes of liver steatosis. Drug-induced hepatic toxicity is increasingly recognized as a key contributor to the development and progression of NAFLD. Among them, valproic acid (VPA), an antiepileptic drug, is well documented for inducing hepatic steatosis, in addition to interfering with folate metabolism and accelerating the progression of NAFLD. The current study distinctively evaluates the protective role of bioactive folate derivatives (folinic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate) in a VPA-induced NAFLD rat model.
methodsAdult female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups: control, diseased and treated. Liver function test, histopathological examination, gene expression analysis, and molecular docking were performed.
resultsLiver function tests indicated that the increase in alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin levels was highly significant in the diseased group, indicative of hepatic injury. Histopathological examination demonstrated severe steatosis in VPA-treated animals, which was significantly improved in the folate-treated group. The NAFLD Activity Score, a mild NAFLD was observed in the diseased group with a total score of 2. Gene expression studies showed high upregulation of HO-1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in the diseased group, whereas downregulation was observed in folate-treated rats. Furthermore, molecular docking studies indicated that folinic acid and 5mTHF showed high affinities for binding to KEAP1 protein, suggestive of activation of the Nrf2-KEAP1 antioxidant pathway.
conclusionsCollectively, our data provide significant evidence for the protective potential of bioactive folate supplementation in the amelioration of the VPA-induced liver injury through modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid accumulation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.