Xiaochaihu Decoction reduces hepatic steatosis and improves D-GalN/LPS-induced liver injury in hybrid grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus♂ × Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀)

A comprehensive review of bupleuri radix and its bioactive components： with a major focus on treating chronic liver diseases

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Bupleuri Radix (BR) has been recognized as an essential herbal medicine for relieving liver depression for thousands of years. Contemporary research has provided compelling evidence of its pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, metabolic regulation, and anticancer properties, positioning it as a promising treatment option for various liver diseases. Hepatitis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer are among the prevalent and impactful liver diseases worldwide. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive systematic reviews that explore the prescription, bio-active components, and underlying mechanisms of BR in treating liver diseases.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

To summarize the BR classical Chinese medical prescription and ingredients in treating liver diseases and their mechanisms to inform reference for further development and research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literature in the last three decades of BR and its classical Chinese medical prescription and ingredients were collated and summarized by searching PubMed, Wiley, Springer, Google Scholar, Web of Science, CNKI, etc. RESULTS: BR and its classical prescriptions, such as Xiao Chai Hu decoction, Da Chai Hu decoction, Si Ni San, and Chai Hu Shu Gan San, have been utilized for centuries as effective therapies for liver diseases, including hepatitis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. BR is a rich source of active ingredients, such as saikosaponins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, sterols, organic acids, and so on. These bioactive compounds exhibit a wide range of beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and lipid metabolism regulation. However, it is important to acknowledge that BR and its constituents can also possess hepatotoxicity, which is associated with cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes and oxidative stress. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using BR in therapeutic applications to ensure the safe and appropriate utilization of its potential benefits while minimizing any potential risks.

CONCLUSIONS

To sum up, BR, its compounds, and its based traditional Chinese medicine are effective in liver diseases through multiple targets, multiple pathways, and multiple effects. Advances in pharmacological and toxicological investigations of BR and its bio-active components in the future will provide further contributions to the discovery of novel therapeutics for liver diseases.

Lycopene Alleviates the Adverse Effects of Feeding High-Lipid Diets to Hybrid Grouper (♀Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ×♂E. lanceolatus)

It has been found that high-lipid diets (HLDs) disrupt lipid metabolism in fish, leading to an excessive accumulation of lipids in various tissues of the fish body. The objective of this study was to investigate if the inclusion of lycopene (LCP) in an HLD may mitigate the adverse consequences of excessive dietary lipid intake in hybrid grouper (♀ Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × ♂ E. lanceolatus). The experimental design incorporated a control group (L0), which was administered a diet consisting of 42% protein and 16% lipid. The diets for groups L1, L2, and L3 were developed by augmenting the control diet with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg LCP, respectively. The duration of the trial spanned a period of 42 days. The results of the study showed that the weight gain rate (WGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of the three LCP treatment groups (L1, L2, and L3) tended to increase and then decrease, with a significant increase in WGR and PER in L2 (P  < 0.05). Visceral somatic index and hepatic somatic index tended to decrease and then increase in all treatment groups, with a significant decrease in L2 (P  < 0.05). In serum dietary LCP significantly reduced triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) content and significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) content (P  < 0.05). In the liver, dietary LCP reduced TC, TG, and very LDL levels and improved lipoprotein lipase, hepatic lipase, fatty acid (FA) synthetase, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase activities. The number and area of hepatic lipid droplets decreased significantly with increasing LCP content. In the liver, the addition of appropriate levels of LCP significantly upregulated lipoprotein lipase (lpl) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (pparα). In summary, dietary LCP improves growth and reduces lipid deposition in the liver of hybrid grouper by increasing lipolytic metabolism and decreasing FA synthesis. Under the experimental conditions, the fitted curve analysis showed that the recommended LCP additions to the high lipid diet for juvenile hybrid grouper were 200-300 mg/kg.

Multitargeted Herbal Prescription So Shiho Tang: A Scoping Review on Biomarkers for the Evaluation of Therapeutic Effects

Alternative medicines, especially herbal remedies, have been employed to treat infections and metabolism-related chronic inflammation because their safety and multidimensional therapeutic potential outweigh those of synthetic drugs. So Shiho Tang (SSHT), a well-known Oriental prescription (Xiao Chai Hu Tang in Chinese) composed of seven herbs, is traditionally prescribed to treat various viral infections and chronic metabolic disorders in Asia with or without the support of other natural medicines. To provide a general background on how SSHT is used as a medicinal alternative, we conducted a scoping review using the PubMed database system. Among the 453 articles, 76 studies used aqueous extracts of SSHT alone. This result included seven clinical studies and 69 basic studies: cell-based, animal-based, and ex vivo studies. The in vitro and clinical reports mainly focus on hepatic infection and hepatocarcinoma, and the documentation of in vivo tests of SSHT presents a wide range of effects on cancer, fibrosis, inflammation, and several metabolic disorder symptoms. Additionally, among the seven clinical records, two reverse-effect case studies were reported in middle-aged patients. In brief, this systematic review provides general knowledge on the natural remedy SSHT and its potential in phytotherapeutic primary health care.

Dietary Histamine Impairs the Digestive Physiology Function and Muscle Quality of Hybrid Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♂)

An 8-week feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary histamine on growth performance, digestive physiology function and muscle quality in a hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus♂). Seven isoproteic (50%) and isolipidic (11%) diets were prepared with various histamine inclusion levels of 0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480 and 960 mg/kg in diets (actual contents were 72.33, 99.56, 138.60, 225.35, 404.12, 662.12 and 1245.38 mg/kg), respectively. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicates of 30 juveniles (average body weight 14.78 g) per tank in a flow-through mariculture system. The increase in the dietary histamine level up to 1245.38 mg/kg made no significant difference on the growth rate and feed utilization of the grouper. However, the increased histamine content linearly decreased the activities of digestive enzymes, while no differences were observed in groups with low levels of histamine (≤404.12 mg/kg). Similarly, high levels of histamine (≥404.12 mg/kg) significantly damaged the gastric and intestinal mucosa, disrupted the intestinal tight junction structure, and raised the serum diamine oxidase activity and endotoxin level. Meanwhile, high doses of histamine (≥662.12 mg/kg) significantly reduced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, upregulated the relative expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1, and hardened and yellowed the dorsal muscle of grouper. These results showed that dietary histamine was detrimental to the digestive physiology function and muscle quality of the grouper, although it did compromise its growth performance.

Mechanisms of Xiaochaihu Decoction on Treating Hepatic Fibrosis Explored by Network Pharmacology

Purpose. To explore the material basis and pharmacological mechanism of Xiaochaihu Decoction (XCHD), the classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula in inhibiting hepatic fibrosis (HF). Methods. The main components in XCHD were screened from the TCMSP database, ETCM database, and literature, and their potential targets were detected and predicted using the Swiss Target Prediction platform. The HF-related targets were retrieved and screened through GeneCard database and OMIM database, combined with GEO gene chips. The XCHD targets and HF targets were mapped to search common targets. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was acquired via the STRING11.0 database and analyzed visually using Cytoscape 3.8.0 software. The potential mechanisms of the common targets identified through GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were analyzed by using Metascape database. The results were visualized through OmicShare Tools. The “XCHD compound-HF target” network was visually constructed by Cytoscape 3.8.0 software. AutoDockVina1.1.2 and PyMoL software were used to verify the molecular docking of XCHD main active compounds and HF key targets. Results. A total of 164 potential active compounds from XCHD were screened to act on 95 HF-related targets. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that quercetin, β-sitosterol, and kaempferol may be candidate agents, which acted on multiple targets like PTGS2, HSP90AA1, and PTGS1 and regulate multiple key biological pathways like IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to relieve HF. Moreover, molecular docking suggested that quercetin and PTGS2 could statically bind and interact with each other through amino acid residues val-349, LEU-352, PHE-381, etc. Conclusion. This work provides a systems perspective to study the relationship between Chinese medicines and diseases. The therapeutic efficacy of XCHD on HF was the sum of multitarget and multi-approach effects from the bioactive ingredients. This study could be one of the cornerstones for further research.

White Button Mushroom Extracts Modulate Hepatic Fibrosis Progression, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress In Vitro and in LDLR-/- Mice

Liver fibrosis can be caused by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), among other conditions. We performed a study to analyze the effects of a nontoxic, water-soluble extract of the edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus (AB) as a potential inhibitor of fibrosis progression in vitro using human hepatic stellate cell (LX2) cultures and in vivo in LDLR-/- mice. Treatment of LX2 cells with the AB extract reduced the levels of fibrotic and oxidative-related markers and increased the levels of GATA4 expression. In LDLR-/- mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced liver fibrosis and inflammation, the progression of fibrosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis were prevented by AB extract treatment. Moreover, in the mouse model, AB extract could exert an antiatherogenic effect. These data suggest that AB mushroom extract seems to exert protective effects by alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress during the progression of liver fibrosis, possibly due to a decrease in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and a reduction in Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. In addition, we observed a potential atheroprotective effect in our mouse model.

Identifying the essential nodes in network pharmacology based on multilayer network combined with random walk algorithm

Compared with the general complex network, the multilayer network is more suitable for the description of reality. It can be used as a tool of network pharmacology to analyze the mechanism of drug action from an overall perspective. Combined with random walk algorithm, it measures the importance of nodes from the entire network rather than a single layer. Here a four-layer network was constructed based on the data about the action process of prescriptions, consisting of ingredients, target proteins, metabolic pathways and diseases. The random walk algorithm was used to calculate the betweenness centrality of the protein layer nodes to get the rank of their importance. According to above method, we screened out the top 10% proteins that play a key role in treatment. Prescriptions Xiaochaihu Decoction was taken as example to prove our method. The selected proteins were measured with the ones that have been validated to be associated with the treated diseases. The results showed that its accuracy was no less than the topology-based method of single-layer network. The applicability of our method was proved by another prescription Yupingfeng Decoction. Our study demonstrated that multilayer network combined with random walk algorithm was an effective method for pre-screening vital target proteins related to prescriptions.

Propofol attenuates inflammatory response and apoptosis to protect d-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide induced acute liver injury via regulating TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway

OBJECTIVE

Propofol has been reported to be protective against liver injury due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the protective effects of propofol on d-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (d-GalN/LPS) induced acute liver injury.

METHODS

Mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of propofol before d-GalN/LPS treatment. Liver injury was confirmed by serum biochemical analysis and liver histopathological analysis. Relevant molecular events were determined by ELISA, western blot, and test kits. Cell apoptosis were evaluated by TUNEL assay.

RESULTS

The results showed that propofol significantly prevented d-GalN/LPS-induced liver damage by preventing associated increases of serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) and restoring liver histopathological changes. Propofol markedly inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress-related factors. Propofol markedly reduced hepatocyte apoptosis, decreased Bax, Bad, cleaved caspase-3 and increased Bcl-2 expression. Besides, NLRP3 inflammasome and TLR4/NF-κB pathway were inactivated under the treatment of propofol according to the expression of pathways-related proteins.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, propofol contributed to liver protection against d-GalN/LPS-induced liver injury in mice by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress and hepatocyte apoptosis through regulating TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway.