Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 28, 2020; 26(24): 3432-3446
Published online Jun 28, 2020. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i24.3432
Hepatoprotective effects of Hovenia dulcis seeds against alcoholic liver injury and related mechanisms investigated via network pharmacology
Xiao Meng, Guo-Yi Tang, Cai-Ning Zhao, Qing Liu, Xiao-Yu Xu, Shi-Yu Cao
Xiao Meng, Guo-Yi Tang, Cai-Ning Zhao, Qing Liu, Xiao-Yu Xu, Shi-Yu Cao, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Meng X, Tang GY, and Zhao CN contributed to the conception and design of the study; Meng X, Tang GY, Zhao CN, Liu Q, Xu XY, and Cao SY performed the experiments and acquired data; Meng X drafted the manuscript; Tang GY, Zhao CN, and Liu Q made critical revisions; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All experimental procedures were performed based on the approval of Animal Ethics Committee of School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University (No. 2017-011).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao Meng, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China. mengx7@mail2.sysu.edu.cn
Received: March 4, 2020
Peer-review started: March 4, 2020
First decision: April 12, 2020
Revised: April 24, 2020
Accepted: May 30, 2020
Article in press: May 30, 2020
Published online: June 28, 2020
Processing time: 115 Days and 23.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a worldwide health problem with poor prognosis and limited efficacy of current treatments, resulting in major health and economic burdens on both individuals and the society. Many natural products have been shown to improve ALD due to their antioxidant activities.

Research motivation

Some parts of Hovenia dulcis (H. dulcis) provide health benefits. Nevertheless, the effects and mechanisms of H. dulcis seeds on ALD have not yet been fully elucidated.

Research objectives

The present study aimed to determine H. dulcis antioxidant activity, evaluate its effects against ALD, and investigate the related mechanisms via network pharmacology.

Research methods

The antioxidant activity of H. dulcis seed was determined by both ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin–Ciocalteu method and aluminum chloride colorimetry, respectively, as well as polysaccharide by phenol-sulfuric acid method. The effects of H. dulcis seeds against alcoholic liver injury were investigated in mice with water extract pretreatment for 7 d followed by alcohol administration. Moreover, the mechanisms of action were explored with network pharmacology.

Research results

The results showed that H. dulcis seeds possessed strong antioxidant activity (245.11 ± 10.17 μmol Fe2+/g by FRAP, and 284.35 ± 23.57 μmol TE/g by TEAC, respectively), and contained remarkable phenols and flavonoids, as well as a few polysaccharides. H. dulcis seeds attenuated alcohol-induced oxidative liver injury, showing reduced serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase and triglyceride, elevated hepatic glutathione, increased activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and reduced malondialdehyde as well as hepatic triglyceride. The results of network pharmacology analysis indicated that kaempferol, stigmasterol, and naringenin were the main bioactive compounds in H. dulcis seeds, and that modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, gut-derived products, and apoptosis were involved in the mechanisms of H. dulcis seeds’ protective effects on ALD.

Research conclusions

The results of this study demonstrated that H. dulcis seeds could be a good natural antioxidant source with protective effects on oxidative diseases such as ALD.

Research perspectives

The results of this study provide valid evidence for further application of the seeds of edible medicinal plant H. dulcis as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals to manage ALD.