Functional Teas from Penthorum chinense Pursh Alleviates Ethanol-Induced Hepatic Oxidative Stress and Autophagy Impairment in Zebrafish via Modulating the AMPK/p62/Nrf2/mTOR Signaling Axis

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: In China, Penthorum chinense Pursh (PCP) is renowned for its effectiveness in "promoting blood circulation" and "removing blood stasis". It can "relieve the liver" and its application in the eld of liver protection, including viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver, liver brosis, has been known for hundreds of years.Aim of the study: Oxidative stress is widely believed to exert a key role in the pathophysiology of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Therefore, antioxidant therapy re ects a reasonable strategy for the prevention and treatment of ALD. Hence, this study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of PCP in ethanol-induced liver injury.Methods: Treatment of liver-speci c transgenic zebra sh larvae (lfabp: EGFP) at three days postfertilization (3 dpf) with different concentrations of PCP (100, 50, 25 μg / mL) for 48 h was followed by soaking in 350 mmol / L ethanol for 32 h. Liver function and fat accumulation were identi ed by phenotypic indicators and biochemical kits. The related proteins and gene expression were further estimated by western blotting and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Finally, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was adopted to analyze the chemical composition of PCP extract.Results: Firstly, PCP mediated alleviation of ethanol-induced steatosis and reduction of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) related indexes were evident. Dose-dependent decrease of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, the activity of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased the activity of glutathione (GSH), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in zebra sh substantiated the role of PCP in relieving oxidative stress. Furthermore, PCP induced downregulation of sequestosome 1 (p62 / SQSTM1, p62), Atg13 and Beclin 1 expression promoted autophagy. Meanwhile, PCP contributed to the hepatoprotective function by downregulating the expression of kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and upregulating the expression of nucleus factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which activated cytoprotective related gene HO-1.Moreover, HPLC of PCP extract con rmed the presence of various polyphenols with potential antioxidant effects. Finally, PCP appeared to promote the activated protein kinase (AMPK) / p62 / Nrf2 / mTOR signaling pathways, which were related to oxidative stress and autophagy in zebra sh. Conclusion:This study claimed that by activating the AMPK / p62 / Nrf2 / mTOR signaling pathway, PCP could attenuate ethanol-induced liver injury in zebra sh. Highlight 1. Ethanol exposured in zebra sh caused oxidative stress and fat accumulation in the liver 2. PCP reduced ethanol-induced oxidative stress and improved autophagy Recently researchers are increasingly turning their attention to multi-component, multi-targeted natural drugs, especially health food. Penthorum chinense Pursh (PCP) (Penthoraceae, Ganhuangcao in Chinese) is renowned for its effectiveness in "promoting b...

Ultrasound-assisted extraction and characterization of Penthorum chinense polysaccharide with anti-inflammatory effects

“…The water extracts or the functional teas from P. chinense have been shown to possess hepatic anti-inflammatory effects by reducing the levels of inflammatory cytokines, or alleviate ethanol-induced hepatic oxidative stress and autophagy impairment [9] , [40] . However, the action mechanisms for the bioactivities of these extracts are mainly focusing on the anti-oxidative stress with polyphenols as the main contributors [11] , [12] .…”

“…However, polysaccharide, as a common water-soluble natural product in most of medicinal plants, has attached much attention due to its diverse bioactivities and indigestive properties in mammal digestive system [8] . While, polysaccharide constituent in P. chinense has not been systematically studied, which could be one of the active constituents of P. chinense tea [9] or water-extracts [10] , [11] , [12] with protective effects of hepatic injury. There was only limited research giving information of the extraction, monosaccharide composition, and simply-performed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects without action mechanism specified [13] , [14] , [15] .…”

Psoralen and Isopsoralen, Two Estrogen-Like Natural Products from Psoraleae Fructus, Induced Cholestasis via Activation of ERK1/2

“…Following this, the blots were incubated with 1:10000 diluted HRP conjugated antirabbit IgG (HUABIO, Wuhan, China). Protein bands were detected by the Tanon Gel Doc XR+ Imaging system with ECL reagents (Tanon, Shanghai, China), 27 and all bands were quantified by densitometry with ImageJ.…”

Penthorum chinense Pursh improves type 2 diabetes mellitus via modulating gut microbiota in db/db mice

“…Penthorum chinense Pursh (P. chinense) has been used as a medicinal and dietary herb in China for hundreds of years. It was demonstrated by infrared spectroscopy that polyphenols and avonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, and pinocembrin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside) were the most abundant biomolecules in P. chinense extract (PCP) [12][13][14]. Notably, polyphenol-rich herbal medicine and functional food like green tea, Pueraria lobata and Moringa oleifera have long been known to offer diabetes-protective properties [15][16][17].…”