Effect and mechanism of polysaccharide from Crataegus pinnatifida on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Crataegus pinnatifida is the dried fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida. Crataegus pinnatifida polysaccharides (CPPs) eluted with water as the mobile phase (CPPs-H-1) is one of the important active components. CPPs-H-1 has anti-oxidation and blood lipid regulation activities in vitro. Therefore, we investigated the effects of CPPs-H-1 on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in C57/BL6J mice. As a result, CPPs-H-1 inhibited the rapid growth of body weight and alleviated the liver injury caused by high-fat diets, significantly reducing the liver index and blood lipid levels in the model group, inhibiting the production of inflammation and cytokines, and inhibiting oxidative stress. CPPs-H-1 also enhanced intestinal barrier function. At the phylum level, CPPs-H-1 reduced the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroides (F/B) and regulated the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The CPPs-H-1 may regulate intestinal flora composition, and improve intestinal barrier function, ultimately delaying the progression of NAFLD in mice. Also, CPPs-H-1 improved NAFLD progression by enhancing the Amp-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) signaling pathway to enhance fatty acid oxidation. All these results confirm that CPPs-H-1 plays a multi-pathway and multi-target role in the improvement of NAFLD.