An ErChen and YinChen Decoction Ameliorates High-Fat-Induced Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Rats by Regulating JNK1 Signaling Pathway

Traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common chronic liver disease in clinical practice. It has been considered that NASH is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and carcinoma. The mechanism of the NASH progression is complex, including lipid metabolism dysfunction, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Except for lifestyle modification and bariatric surgery, there has been no pharmacological therapy that is being officially approved in NASH treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as a conventional and effective therapeutic strategy, has been proved to be beneficial in treating NASH in numbers of studies. In the light of this, TCM may provide a potential therapy for treating NASH. In this review, we summarized the associated mechanisms of action TCM treating NASH in preclinical studies and systematically analysis the effectiveness of TCM treating NASH in current clinical trials.

Lipidomic analysis reveals therapeutic effects of Yijin-Tang on high-fat/high-cholesterol diet-induced obese mice

BACKGROUND

In Traditional Korean and Chinese medicine, the herbal remedy Yijin (Erchen)-Tang (YJT) is widely used to treat obesity-related disorders, and its therapeutic potential has been demonstrated in numerous studies. However, the systemic effect of YJT on obesity status and change of lipid metabolism by YJT still remains unknown.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of the YJT on obesity by using lipidomics.

METHODS

To evaluate the effects of treatment with YJT on obesity, C57BL/6 J mice were fed a high-fat and high-cholesterol (HFHC, 40% fat and 1% cholesterol) diet for 8 weeks and treated them with YJT for an additional 6 weeks. We then performed untargeted lipidomic analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry mass spectroscopy coupled with multivariate statistical analysis.

RESULTS

YJT ameliorated obesity induced systemic inflammation and improved insulin resistance. Additionally, YJT protected against HFHC-diet-induced hepatic inflammation. To explore specific changes in lipid metabolism associated with the therapeutic effects of YJT, we performed untargeted lipid profiling of the plasma. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) score plots showed that YJT altered the lipid metabolic pattern of HFHC mice. In particular, ceramides and triglycerides with saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids were significantly changed by YJT, which were significantly associated with insulin resistance, the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications and adipocytokine signaling pathway in pathway enrichment analysis. Thus, we analyzed the changes in adipocytes and adipokine caused by YJT, and confirmed that YJT alleviated adipocytes inflammation and macrophage infiltration, and reversed HFHC-induced alterations in leptin and adiponectin levels in adipose tissue and plasma.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that YJT ameliorates obesity-induced systemic inflammation and insulin resistance by regulating lipid metabolism, and demonstrated that lipidomic profiling is a useful method to investigate the therapeutic effects of herbal decoctions in traditional Korean and Chinese medicine.

Erchen Decoction Ameliorates Lipid Metabolism by the Regulation of the Protein CAV-1 and the Receptors VLDLR, LDLR, ABCA1, and SRB1 in a High-Fat Diet Rat Model

Lipid metabolism disorder is a common metabolic disorder characterized by abnormal lipid levels in blood. Erchen decoction (ECD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, which is used for the treatment of diseases caused by retention of phlegm dampness. It has been reported to ameliorate the disorder of lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of ECD in lipid metabolism disorder induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) in rats. ECD (4.35g/kg/d) and atorvastatin (10mg/kg/d, positive control) were orally administered to HFD-fed rats for four weeks. The parameters, food, water consumption, body weight, body length, liver, and visceral fat weight and the content of serum lipids and lipid transporters were assessed. The effects of ECD on the mRNA and protein expression levels of lipid transport factors were measured by real-time PCR and western blotting. The present study demonstrated that ECD improved the disorders of serum lipid and lipid transporters in HFD-fed rats, TG (0.70±0.08 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL-C (1.50±0.19 mmol/L, p<0.01), LDL (1.38±0.21 mmol/L, p<0.05), and oxLDL (1.77±0.39 ng/mL, p<0.05) were downregulated, while HDL-C (0.87±0.13 mmol/L, p<0.01), FFA (0.62±0.13 mmol/L, p<0.05), HDL (38.8±4.0 mg/dL, p<0.05), and CETP (903.6±120.0 ng/mL, p<0.05) were upregulated. But ECD obviously had no effects on the indices food/water/energy intake, body/tissue (liver and fat) weight, and BMI (p>0.05). Concomitantly, ECD reversed the abnormal expressions of those lipid transport factors in the liver and visceral fat.

Network pharmacology-based prediction of active compounds and molecular targets in Yijin-Tang acting on hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Yijin-Tang (YJT) is a traditional prescription for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia, atherosclerosis and other ailments related to dampness phlegm, a typical pathological symptom of abnormal body fluid metabolism in Traditional Korean Medicine. However, a holistic network pharmacology approach to understanding the therapeutic mechanisms underlying hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis has not been pursued.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To examine the network pharmacological potential effects of YJT on hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis, we analysed components, performed target prediction and network analysis, and investigated interacting pathways using a network pharmacology approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information on compounds in herbal medicines was obtained from public databases, and oral bioavailability and drug-likeness was screened using absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) criteria. Correlations between compounds and genes were linked using the STITCH database, and genes related to hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis were gathered using the GeneCards database. Human genes were identified and subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis.

RESULTS

Network analysis identified 447 compounds in five herbal medicines that were subjected to ADME screening, and 21 compounds and 57 genes formed the main pathways linked to hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis. Among them, 10 compounds (naringenin, nobiletin, hesperidin, galangin, glycyrrhizin, homogentisic acid, stigmasterol, 6-gingerol, quercetin and glabridin) were linked to more than four genes, and are bioactive compounds and key chemicals. Core genes in this network were CASP3, CYP1A1, CYP1A2, MMP2 and MMP9. The compound-target gene network revealed close interactions between multiple components and multiple targets, and facilitates a better understanding of the potential therapeutic effects of YJT.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacological network analysis can help to explain the potential effects of YJT for treating dampness phlegm-related diseases such as hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis.