Silkworm pupa powder alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease by regulating microbial-intestinal-liver axis and TLR4 / MyD88 / NF-κB signaling pathway

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease globally, but effective treatment strategies remain limited. Silkworm pupa powder (SP), the first approved insect food in China, protect the liver, but its effect on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is unknown. This study explored SP's impact on MASLD in C57BL/6 J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks, then treated with SP and metformin for 12 weeks. We found that SP could improve body weight, lipid levels, insulin resistance and the oxidation-antioxidant balance. SP reduces liver lipid deposition by lowering liver inflammation (down-regulating the TLR4 / MyD88 / NF-κB inflammatory pathway) and reshaping the gut microbiome to regulate bile acid metabolism. These findings collectively suggest that SP alleviates MASLD by regulating gut microbiota-bile acid metabolism and inhibiting TLR4-mediated liver inflammation, making it a promising functional food for metabolic liver diseases.