Total saponins from Panax japonicus attenuate acute alcoholic liver oxidative stress and hepatosteatosis by p62-related Nrf2 pathway and AMPK-ACC/PPARα axis in vivo and in vitro
{"title":"Total saponins from Panax japonicus attenuate acute alcoholic liver oxidative stress and hepatosteatosis by p62-related Nrf2 pathway and AMPK-ACC/PPARα axis in vivo and in vitro","authors":"Ling Qiu , Ruibing Feng , Qiu-shuang Wu , Jian-bo Wan , Qing-wen Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jep.2023.116785","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Ethnopharmacological relevance</h3><p><span><em>Panax japonicus</em></span><span> (T. Nees) C.A. Mey. (PJ) has been used as a tonic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for years. Based on its meridian tropism in liver, spleen, and lung, PJ was popularly used to enhance the function of these organs. It is originally recorded with detoxicant effect on binge drink in Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi, a persuasive Chinese </span><span><em>materia medica</em></span><span>. And binge dink has a close relationship with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Hence, it's meaningful to investigate whether PJ exerts liver protection against binge drink toxicity.</span></p></div><div><h3>Aim of the study</h3><p><span>This investigation was carried out not only to emphasize the right recognition of total saponins from PJ (SPJ), but also to study on its sober-up effectiveness and defensive mechanism against acute alcoholic liver injury </span><em>in vivo</em> and <em>in vitro</em>.</p></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><p>SPJ constituents were verified by HPLC-UV analysis. <em>In vivo</em><span><span>, acute alcoholic liver oxidative stress and hepatosteatosis<span> were established by continuous ethanol gavage to C57BL/6 mice for 3 days. SPJ was pre-administered for 7 days to investigate its protective efficacy. Loss of righting reflex (LORR) assay was employed to assess anti-inebriation effect of SPJ. Transaminases levels and </span></span>hematoxylin<span> and eosin (H&E) staining were measured to indicate the alcoholic liver injury. Antioxidant enzymes were measured to evaluate the oxidative stress degree in liver. Measurement of hepatic lipid accumulation was based on Oil Red O staining. Levels of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). </span></span><em>In vitro</em><span><span>, HepG2 cells were treated with ethanol for 24 h, and SPJ was pre-administered for 2 h. 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) was used as a probe to indicate </span>reactive oxygen species<span> (ROS) generation. Nrf2 activation was verified by the favor of specific inhibitor, ML385. The nuclear translocation of Nrf2 was indicated with immunofluorescence analysis. Proteins expressions of related pathways were determined by Western blotting.</span></span></p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span><span>Oleanane-type saponins are the most abundant constituents of SPJ. In this acute model, SPJ released inebriation of mice in a dose dependent manner. It decreased levels of serum ALT<span> and AST, and hepatic TG. Besides, SPJ inhibited </span></span>CYP2E1<span> expression and reduced MDA<span><span> level in liver, with upregulations of antioxidant enzymes GSH, SOD and </span>CAT<span>. p62-related Nrf2 pathway was activated by SPJ with downstream upregulations of GCLC<span> and NQO1 in liver. AMPK-ACC/PPAR</span></span></span></span></span><em>α</em><span> axis was upregulated by SPJ to alleviate hepatic lipidosis. Hepatic IL-6 and TNF-</span><em>α</em> levels were downregulated by SPJ, which indicated a regressive lipid peroxidation in liver. In HepG2 cells, SPJ reduced ethanol-exposed ROS generation. Activated p62-related Nrf2 pathway was verified to contribute to the alleviation of alcohol-induced oxidative stress in hepatic cells.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>This attenuation of hepatic oxidative stress and steatosis suggested the therapeutic value of SPJ for ALD.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":15761,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ethnopharmacology","volume":"317 ","pages":"Article 116785"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of ethnopharmacology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874123006530","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Panax japonicus (T. Nees) C.A. Mey. (PJ) has been used as a tonic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for years. Based on its meridian tropism in liver, spleen, and lung, PJ was popularly used to enhance the function of these organs. It is originally recorded with detoxicant effect on binge drink in Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi, a persuasive Chinese materia medica. And binge dink has a close relationship with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Hence, it's meaningful to investigate whether PJ exerts liver protection against binge drink toxicity.
Aim of the study
This investigation was carried out not only to emphasize the right recognition of total saponins from PJ (SPJ), but also to study on its sober-up effectiveness and defensive mechanism against acute alcoholic liver injury in vivo and in vitro.
Materials and methods
SPJ constituents were verified by HPLC-UV analysis. In vivo, acute alcoholic liver oxidative stress and hepatosteatosis were established by continuous ethanol gavage to C57BL/6 mice for 3 days. SPJ was pre-administered for 7 days to investigate its protective efficacy. Loss of righting reflex (LORR) assay was employed to assess anti-inebriation effect of SPJ. Transaminases levels and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining were measured to indicate the alcoholic liver injury. Antioxidant enzymes were measured to evaluate the oxidative stress degree in liver. Measurement of hepatic lipid accumulation was based on Oil Red O staining. Levels of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In vitro, HepG2 cells were treated with ethanol for 24 h, and SPJ was pre-administered for 2 h. 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) was used as a probe to indicate reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Nrf2 activation was verified by the favor of specific inhibitor, ML385. The nuclear translocation of Nrf2 was indicated with immunofluorescence analysis. Proteins expressions of related pathways were determined by Western blotting.
Results
Oleanane-type saponins are the most abundant constituents of SPJ. In this acute model, SPJ released inebriation of mice in a dose dependent manner. It decreased levels of serum ALT and AST, and hepatic TG. Besides, SPJ inhibited CYP2E1 expression and reduced MDA level in liver, with upregulations of antioxidant enzymes GSH, SOD and CAT. p62-related Nrf2 pathway was activated by SPJ with downstream upregulations of GCLC and NQO1 in liver. AMPK-ACC/PPARα axis was upregulated by SPJ to alleviate hepatic lipidosis. Hepatic IL-6 and TNF-α levels were downregulated by SPJ, which indicated a regressive lipid peroxidation in liver. In HepG2 cells, SPJ reduced ethanol-exposed ROS generation. Activated p62-related Nrf2 pathway was verified to contribute to the alleviation of alcohol-induced oxidative stress in hepatic cells.
Conclusion
This attenuation of hepatic oxidative stress and steatosis suggested the therapeutic value of SPJ for ALD.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Ethnopharmacology is dedicated to the exchange of information and understandings about people''s use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms and minerals and their biological and pharmacological effects based on the principles established through international conventions. Early people confronted with illness and disease, discovered a wealth of useful therapeutic agents in the plant and animal kingdoms. The empirical knowledge of these medicinal substances and their toxic potential was passed on by oral tradition and sometimes recorded in herbals and other texts on materia medica. Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin, reserpine) came into use through the study of indigenous remedies. Chemists continue to use plant-derived drugs (e.g., morphine, taxol, physostigmine, quinidine, emetine) as prototypes in their attempts to develop more effective and less toxic medicinals.