Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a serious worldwide
health problem.
Ginsenoside Rc is a major active ingredient isolated from Panax ginseng, whose pharmacological effects counteract
oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid accumulation. However, it
is still unclear whether ginsenoside Rc might exert beneficial effects
on alcohol-induced liver injury. To this aim, mice primary hepatocytes
(MPHs) were challenged with alcohol to test ginsenoside Rc’s
effects on their intracellular alcohol metabolism. C57BL/6J mice or
SIRT6alb–/– mice were chronically fed a diet
with added alcohol or given a single gavage of alcohol with or without
ginsenoside Rc. Analyses of alcohol metabolism, oxidative stress,
inflammation, lipid metabolism, and RNaseq expression were conducted
to explore potential targets exploited by ginsenoside Rc to protect
against ALD. Our results showed that ginsenoside Rc attenuated alcohol-induced
liver injury by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid
accumulation both in vivo and in vitro. Ginsenoside Rc did increase the deacetylase activity of SIRT6,
thereby lowering acetylated NRF2 levels, which elevated NRF2’s
stability, and subsequently exerting an antioxidant effect. In keeping
with this, the hepatic knockout of SIRT6 almost abolished the hepatoprotective
effects of ginsenoside Rc against ALD. Therefore, our results suggest
that ginsenoside Rc attenuated hepatocytes’ damage and oxidative
stress in ALD by up-regulating the SIRT6/NRF2 pathway. Hence, ginsenoside
Rc may be a promising drug to treat or relieve ALD.