Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine Mixture 919 Syrup on Regulation of the Ghrelin Pathway and Intestinal Microbiota in Rats With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Manman Chen,Pengfei Gao,Jingwei Xing,Danqing Pan

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.793854

Abstract

As a manifestation of metabolic syndrome in the liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the top cause of liver disease in many countries. Recent studies have shown that intestinal microbiota disorder plays an important role in the occurrence and development of NAFLD and that regulating intestinal microbiota provides a new option for NAFLD treatment. In addition, research indicates that risk of NAFLD increases as body mass index rises, and interventions that reduce body weight and change diet can help to lower the incidence of NAFLD. Studies have found that 919 syrup may effectively treat NAFLD in rats by improving liver function and lipid metabolism and regulating body weight and feed intake, however, its potential toxicity and the specific mechanism by which it controls this disease require further exploration. This study assesses both the toxicity of 919 syrup and its regulatory effect on the appetite-related Ghrelin pathway and intestinal microbiota of rats with NAFLD. Results indicate that 919 syrup has no obvious side-effects on body weight, feed intake, blood glucose level, hepatorenal function, and liver tissue structure of normal rats. Moreover, 919 syrup can reverse abnormal changes to expression of Ghrelin pathway genes related to appetite in both the brain and stomach and repair alterations to the intestinal microbiota in rats with NAFLD. This herbal medicine is a safe and promising therapeutic drug for the treatment of NAFLD.

Highlights

As a result of the worldwide increase in obesity, the manifestation of metabolic syndrome in the liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a primary cause of chronic liver disease in many countries
These results showed that 919 syrup did not negatively impact the body weight and feed intake of normal rats
As compared to the NAFLD group, 5-HT2cR, 5-HT2bR, Leptin, AGRP, NPY, and CRF expression decreased in the hypothalamus and stomach of the 919TJ group, while Ghrelin and GHSR expression increased in both sites (∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, ∗∗∗P < 0.001). These results showed that 919 syrup can reverse the abnormal expression of Ghrelin pathway-related genes in the hypothalamus and stomach of NAFLD rats

Summary

Introduction

As a result of the worldwide increase in obesity, the manifestation of metabolic syndrome in the liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a primary cause of chronic liver disease in many countries. The incidence of NAFLD in patients with metabolic syndromes, including type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity and hypertension, is significantly higher than in the general population. NAFLD includes simple liver steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Effect of 919 Syrup on NAFLD of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis can cause more severe liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The main pathological impact of NAFLD is the accumulation of fat in the liver, the specific mechanism by which this occurs is not yet clear. NAFLD poses a serious threat to human health and requires focus on the development of effective treatments

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