Anti-NAFLD Effect of Djulis Hull and Its Major Compound, Rutin, in Mice with High-Fat Diet (HFD)-Induced Obesity

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemical components in Qianggan capsule by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and LC-sMRM

Qianggan capsule (QGC) is a complex preparation composed of 16 traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) that can clear heat and dampness, fortify the spleen and blood, typify qi and relieve depression. However, the chemical composition of QGC remains incompletely understood, despite its clinical use in treating chronic hepatitis and liver injury. The objective of this study was to explore the quality markers of QGC through qualitative and quantitative analysis of its chemical components. First, the chemical composition of QGC was qualitatively analyzed using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. Subsequently, the LC-sMRM method was developed and optimized to accurately quantify various chemical components of 10 batches of QGC. Finally, the variations in chemical components between batches were analyzed via multivariate statistical analysis. UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis revealed 167 chemical constituents in QGC, comprised of 48 flavonoids, 32 terpenoids, 18 phenolic acids, 9 coumarins, 9 phenylpropanoids, and 51 nucleosides, sugars, amino acids, anthraquinones, and other compounds. The LC-sMRM method was established for the quantitative analysis of 42 chemical components in 10 batches of QGC. The ultrasonic-assisted extraction parameters were optimized using RSM. Compared with conventional MRM, sMRM demonstrated superior sensitivity and precision. PCA and OPLS-DA identified eight chemical components with content differences among batches. This study established the chemical composition of QGC, offering useful guidance for assessing its quality.

A narrative review on the mechanism of natural flavonoids in improving glucolipid metabolism disorders

Glucolipid metabolism disorder (GLMD) is a complex chronic disease characterized by glucose and lipid metabolism disorders with a complex and diverse etiology and rapidly increasing incidence. Many studies have identified the role of flavonoids in ameliorating GLMD, with mechanisms related to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, nuclear factor kappa-B, AMP-activated protein kinase, nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2, glucose transporter type 4, and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway. However, a comprehensive summary of the flavonoid effects on GLMD is lacking. This study reviewed the roles and mechanisms of natural flavonoids with different structures in the treatment of GLMD reported globally in the past 5 years and provides a reference for developing flavonoids as drugs for treating GLMD.

Nutraceutical Potential of Djulis (Chenopodium formosanum) Hull: Phytochemicals, Antioxidant Activity, and Liver Protection

Djulis (Chenopodium formosanum), a traditional Taiwanese crop enriched with phenolic compounds and betalain pigments, is associated with various health benefits, including antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects. This study analysed the phytochemical content and antioxidant capacity of extracts from both the hull and kernel of Djulis. The hull extract, which contained higher levels of flavonoids and exhibited superior antioxidant activity compared to the kernel extract, was selected for further in vivo studies. These experiments showed that oral administration of the Djulis hull crude extract significantly mitigated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice by increasing the activity of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reducing plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and enhancing liver levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4). Additionally, the extract demonstrated potential in inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway, a critical signalling pathway in inflammation and apoptosis, offering insights into its protective mechanisms. These findings underscore Djulis hull's potential as a functional food ingredient for ALI prevention and propose a valuable application for agricultural by-products.

Rutin ameliorated lipid metabolism dysfunction of diabetic NAFLD via AMPK/SREBP1 pathway

BACKGROUND

In diabetic liver injury, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease. Rutin is a bioflavonoid produced by the hydrolysis of glucosidases to quercetin. Its biological activities include lowering blood glucose, regulating insulin secretion, regulating dyslipidemia, and exerting anti-inflammatory effects have been demonstrated. However, its effect on diabetic NAFLD is rarely reported.

PURPOSE

Our study aimed to investigate the protective effects of Rutin on diabetic NAFLD and potential pharmacological mechanism.

METHODS

We used db/db mice as the animal model to investigate diabetic NAFLD. Oleic acid-treated (OA) HeLa cells were examined whether Rutin had the ability to ameliorate lipid accumulation. HepG2 cells treated with 30 mM/l d-glucose and palmitic acid (PA) were used as diabetic NAFLD in vitro models. Total cholesterol (TC) and Triglycerides (TG) levels were determined. Oil red O staining and BODIPY 493/503 were used to detect lipid deposition within cells. The indicators of inflammation and oxidative stress were detected. The mechanism of Rutin in diabetic liver injury with NAFLD was analyzed using RNA-sequence and 16S rRNA, and the expression of fat-synthesizing proteins in the 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway was investigated. Compound C inhibitors were used to further verify the relationship between AMPK and Rutin in diabetic NAFLD.

RESULTS

Rutin ameliorated lipid accumulation in OA-treated HeLa. In in vitro and in vivo models of diabetic NAFLD, Rutin alleviated lipid accumulation, inflammation, and oxidative stress. 16S analysis showed that Rutin could reduce gut microbiota dysregulation, such as the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. RNA-seq showed that the significantly differentially genes were mainly related to liver lipid metabolism. And the ameliorating effect of Rutin on diabetic NAFLD was through AMPK/SREBP1 pathway and the related lipid synthesis proteins was involved in this process.

CONCLUSION

Rutin ameliorated diabetic NAFLD by activating the AMPK pathway and Rutin might be a potential new drug ingredient for diabetic NAFLD.

Natural compounds as obesity pharmacotherapies

Obesity has become a serious global public health problem, affecting over 988 million people worldwide. Nevertheless, current pharmacotherapies have proven inadequate. Natural compounds have garnered significant attention due to their potential antiobesity effects. Over the past three decades, ca. 50 natural compounds have been evaluated for the preventive and/or therapeutic effects on obesity in animals and humans. However, variations in the antiobesity efficacies among these natural compounds have been substantial, owing to differences in experimental designs, including variations in animal models, dosages, treatment durations, and administration methods. The feasibility of employing these natural compounds as pharmacotherapies for obesity remained uncertain. In this review, we systematically summarized the antiobesity efficacy and mechanisms of action of each natural compound in animal models. This comprehensive review furnishes valuable insights for the development of antiobesity medications based on natural compounds.

Chinese herbal medicines: The modulator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease targeting oxidative stress

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Plants are a natural treasure trove; their secondary metabolites participate in several pharmacological processes, making them a crucial component in the synthesis of novel pharmaceuticals and serving as a reserve resource foundation in this process. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with the risk of progression to hepatitis and liver cancer. The "Treatise on Febrile Diseases," "Compendium of Materia Medica," and "Thousand Golden Prescriptions" have listed herbal remedies to treat liver diseases.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD owing to their efficacy and low side effects. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during NAFLD, and the impact and potential mechanism of ROS on the pathogenesis of NAFLD are discussed in this review. Furthermore, common foods and herbs that can be used to prevent NAFLD, as well as the structure-activity relationships and potential mechanisms, are discussed.

METHODS

Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI database, Google Scholar, and WanFang database were searched for natural products that have been used to treat or prevent NAFLD in the past five years. The primary search was performed using the following keywords in different combinations in full articles: NAFLD, herb, natural products, medicine, and ROS. More than 400 research papers and review articles were found and analyzed in this review.

RESULTS

By classifying and discussing the literature, we obtained 86 herbaceous plants, 28 of which were derived from food and 58 from Chinese herbal medicines. The mechanism of NAFLD was proposed through experimental studies on thirteen natural compounds (quercetin, hesperidin, rutin, curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, salvianolic acid B, paeoniflorin, ginsenoside Rg1, ursolic acid, berberine, honokiol, emodin). The occurrence and progression of NAFLD could be prevented by natural antioxidants through several pathways to prevent ROS accumulation and reduce hepatic cell injuries caused by excessive ROS.

CONCLUSION

This review summarizes the natural products and routinely used herbs (prescription) in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD. Firstly, the mechanisms by which natural products improve NAFLD through antioxidant pathways are elucidated. Secondly, the potential of traditional Chinese medicine theory in improving NAFLD is discussed, highlighting the safety of food-medicine homology and the broader clinical potential of multi-component formulations in improving NAFLD. Aiming to provide theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

Djulis Hull Enhances the Efficacy of Ferric Citrate Supplementation via Restoring Normal Iron Efflux through the IL-6-Hepcidin-Ferroportin Pathway in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Rats

Obesity-related functional iron disorder remains a major nutritional challenge. We evaluated the effects of djulis hull (DH) on iron metabolism in 50% high-fat-diet-induced obese rats supplemented with ferric citrate (2 g iron/kg diet) for 12 weeks. DH supplementation (5, 10, 15% dry weight/kg diet) significantly increased serum and hepatic iron but decreased appetite hormones, body weight, hepcidin, and liver inflammation (all p < 0.05). The Spearman correlation showed that appetite hormones were negatively associated with iron but positively correlated with liver hepcidin (all p < 0.05). A Western blot analysis showed that DH significantly downregulated hepatic hepcidin through the IL-6-JAK-STAT3 and enhanced ferroportin (Fpn) via the Keap1-Nrf2 and PHD2-HIF-2α. An in vitro study revealed that major bioactive compounds of DH, hexacosanol, and squalene suppressed LPS-induced IL-6 and hepcidin but enhanced Fpn expression in activated THP-1 cells. In conclusion, DH may exert nutraceutical properties for the treatment of functional iron disorder and restoration of iron efflux may have beneficial effects on weight control.

Molecular Mechanism Pathways of Natural Compounds for the Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the world, and its incidence continues to increase each year. Yet, there is still no definitive drug that can stop its development. This review focuses mainly on lipotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and intestinal flora dysbiosis to understand NAFLD's pathogenesis. In this review, we used NCBI's PubMed database for retrieval, integrating in vivo and in vitro experiments to reveal the therapeutic effects of natural compounds on NAFLD. We also reviewed the mechanisms by which the results of these experiments suggest that these compounds can protect the liver from damage by modulating inflammation, reducing oxidative stress, decreasing insulin resistance and lipid accumulation in the liver, and interacting with the intestinal microflora. The natural compounds discussed in these papers target a variety of pathways, such as the AMPK pathway and the TGF-β pathway, and have significant therapeutic effects. This review aims to provide new possible therapeutic lead compounds and references for the development of novel medications and the clinical treatment of NAFLD. It offers fresh perspectives on the development of natural compounds in preventing and treating NAFLD.

Modulation of the Microbiome-Fat-Liver Axis by Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Potential Alleviated Role in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice

The major characteristics of obesity are abnormal lipid metabolism, chronic inflammation, and imbalanced gut microbiota. It has been reported that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) possess potential for alleviating obesity, considering which the strain-specific functions and diverse mechanisms and the roles and mechanisms of various LAB are worthy of investigation. This study aimed to validate and investigate the alleviating effects and underlying mechanisms of three LAB strains, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NCUH001046 (LP), Limosilactobacillus reuteri NCUH064003, and Limosilactobacillus fermentum NCUH003068 (LF), in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice. The findings demonstrated that the three strains, particularly LP, suppressed body weight gain and fat deposition; ameliorated lipid disorders, liver and adipocyte morphology, and chronic low-grade inflammation; and reduced lipid synthesis via activating the adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. In addition, LP and LF decreased the enrichment of bacteria positively correlated with obesity, like Mucispirillum, Olsenella, and Streptococcus, but facilitated the growth of beneficial bacteria negatively correlated with obesity, like Roseburia, Coprococcus, and Bacteroides, along with increasing the short-chain fatty acid levels. It is deduced that the underlying alleviating mechanism of LP was to modulate the hepatic AMPK signaling pathway and gut microbiota by the microbiome-fat-liver axis to alleviate obesity development. In conclusion, as a diet supplement, LP has promising potential in obesity prevention and treatment.

Elucidation of Natural Components of Gardenia thunbergia Thunb. Leaves: Effect of Methanol Extract and Rutin on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The rising prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease NAFLD has strained the healthcare system. Natural products could solve this problem, so the current study focused on the impact of G. thunbergia Thunb. against this ailment. LC-ESI-MS/MS revealed the phytochemical profile of the methanol extract from Gardenia thunbergia leaves (GME). Forty-eight compounds were tentatively identified, and stigmasterol, fucosterol, ursolic acid, and rutin were isolated. The separation of the last three compounds from this plant had not before been achieved. The anti-NAFLD effect of the methanol extract of the leaves of G. thunbergia, and its major metabolite, rutin, was assessed in mice against high-fructose diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Male mice were allocated into nine groups: (1) saline (control), (2) 30% fructose (diseased group), (3) HFD, and 10 mg/kg of simvastatin. Groups 4-6 were administered HFD and rutin 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg. Groups (7-9) were administered HFD and methanol extract of leaves 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg. Methanol extract of G. thunbergia leaves at 200 mg/kg, and rutin at 75 mg/kg significantly reduced HFD-induced increments in mice weight and hepatic damage indicators (AST and ALT), steatosis, and hypertrophy. The levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglycerides in the blood decreased. In addition, the expressions of CYP2E1, JNK1, and iNOS in the diseased mice were downregulated. This study found that GME and rutin could ameliorate NAFLD in HFD-fed mice, with results comparable to simvastatin, validating G. thunbergia's hepatoprotective effects.

Effects of Fish Oil, Lipid Mediators, Derived from Docosahexaenoic Acid, and Their Co-Treatment against Lipid Metabolism Dysfunction and Inflammation in HFD Mice and HepG2 Cells

Although fish oil (FO) and lipid mediators (LM) derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids can prevent obesity, their combined effects and cellular metabolism remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the potential protective and metabolic effects of FO in combination with LM (a mixture of 17S-monohydroxy docosahexaenoic acid, resolvin D5, and protectin DX [3:47:50], derived from docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) on palmitic acid (PA)-induced HepG2 cells and high-fat- diet (HFD)-induced C57BL/6J mice after 9-week treatment. Lipid metabolism disorders and inflammation induced by HFD and PA were substantially reduced after FO and LM treatment. Further, FO and LM treatments reduced lipid accumulation by increasing fatty acid oxidation via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and carnitine-palmitoyl transferase 1 as well as by decreasing fatty acid synthesis via sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c and fatty acid synthase. Finally, FO and LM treatment reduced inflammation by blocking the NF-κB signaling pathway. Importantly, the combination of FO and LM exhibited more robust efficacy against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, suggesting that FO supplemented with LM is a beneficial dietary strategy for treating this disease.

Djulis Hull Improves Insulin Resistance and Modulates the Gut Microbiota in High-Fat Diet (HFD)-Induced Hyperglycaemia

In this study, we annotated the major flavonoid glycoside, rutin, of djulis hull crude extract using a Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) library and its MS/MS spectra. To evaluate the protective effect of djulis hull crude extract and rutin on glucose tolerance, we fed mice a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks to induce hyperglycaemia. These results showed that crude extract significantly decreased HFD-induced elevation in the area under the curve (AUC) of weekly random blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), and advanced glycation end product (AGE) levels, and significantly increased pIRS1 and Glut4 protein expression in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) and liver. Furthermore, the HFD-induced reduction in the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) was reversed by crude extract. In addition, ZO-1 and occludin protein expression in the colon was markedly downregulated in HFD-fed mice, resulting in decreased intestinal permeability and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) translocation, but were restored following crude extract. Moreover, the crude extract intervention had a profound effect on the alpha diversity and microbial community in the gut microbiota. Therefore, djulis hull crude extract could improve blood glucose and increase insulin receptor sensitivity in HFD-induced hyperglycaemia, which is likely due to its modulation of the gut microbiota, preservation of the integrity of the intestinal barrier to reduce body inflammation, increased antioxidant activity, and modulation of insulin signalling.