Integrative multi-omics unravels the amelioration effects of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

BackgroundThe effect of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (ZBM) on anti-obesity, lipid-lowering and liver protection has been identified, but the effect on the development of NAFLD induced by high-fat diet remains unclear. PurposeTo evaluate the alleviation effect of ZBM on NAFLD in vivo and explore the mechanisms by analyzing the liver transcriptome, microbiota and fecal metabolites. MethodsNAFLD model was induced in C57BL/6J mice by feeding with high-fat diet (HFD). The potential mechanism of ZBM in improving NAFLD was studied by liver transcriptome analysis, real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, 16s rRNA sequencing and non-targeted metabonomics. ResultsZBM has alleviation effects on HFD-induced NAFLD. The liver transcriptome, real-time PCR and immunofluorescence analysis showed that ZBM could efficiently regulate fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism. The 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS based metabonomic demonstrated that ZBM could rebalance gut microbiota dysbiosis and regulate metabolic profiles in HFD-induced NAFLD mice. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between gut microbiota and biochemical, pathological indexes and differential metabolic biomarkers. ConclusionZBM ameliorates HFD-induced NAFLD by regulating fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism, gut microbiota and metabolic profile.