Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is considered growing risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma development in high‐income countries. Diet‐ and chemically induced rodent models have been applied for the translational study of NASH‐associated hepatocarcinogenesis due to their morphological and molecular similarities to the corresponding human disease. Arctium lappa L. (burdock) root tea has been extensively consumed in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to its potential therapeutic properties. Indeed, the bioactive compounds of A. lappa root, as the polyphenols, have already showed antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties in different in vivo and in vitro bioassays. In this study, we investigated whether burdock root ethanolic extract (BRE) administration attenuates NASH‐associated hepatocarcinogenesis. Eight‐week‐old male Wistar rats received choline‐deficient high‐fat diet for 8 weeks and multiple thioacetamide doses for 4 weeks in order to induce NASH and preneoplastic glutathione‐S‐transferase pi (GST‐P)+ preneoplastic foci. Subsequently, rats were treated with BRE (100 or 200 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle by oral gavage for 2 weeks. BRE displayed high levels of chlorogenic and caffeic acids and BRE administration reduced total fatty acid and lipid hydroperoxide levels, while increasing the activities of antioxidant superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes in the liver. Furthermore, burdock intervention diminished the size of GST‐P+ remodeling preneoplastic lesions (PNLs) and displayed a trend on reducing hepatocyte proliferation (Ki‐67) inside them. These findings suggest that short‐term exposure to BRE alleviated remodeling PNL development in NASH‐associated hepatocarcinogenesis.

中文翻译：

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牛蒡 (Arctium lappa L.) 根在饮食和硫代乙酰胺诱导的脂肪性肝炎相关肝癌发生模型中减弱肿瘤前病变的发展

在高收入国家，非酒精性脂肪性肝炎 (NASH) 被认为是肝细胞癌发展的危险因素。饮食和化学诱导的啮齿动物模型已被应用于 NASH 相关肝癌发生的转化研究，因为它们与相应的人类疾病的形态和分子相似。由于其潜在的治疗特性，牛蒡（牛蒡）根茶在传统中药中被广泛食用。事实上，作为多酚的 A. lappa 根的生物活性化合物已经在不同的体内和体外生物测定中显示出抗氧化和抗炎特性。在这项研究中，我们调查了牛蒡根乙醇提取物 (BRE) 给药是否会减弱 NASH 相关的肝癌发生。8 周龄雄性 Wistar 大鼠接受 8 周缺乏胆碱的高脂肪饮食和 4 周多剂量硫代乙酰胺，以诱导 NASH 和肿瘤前谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶 pi (GST-P)+ 肿瘤前病灶。随后，通过口服强饲法用 BRE（100 或 200 毫克/千克体重）或载体治疗大鼠 2 周。BRE 显示出高水平的绿原酸和咖啡酸，并且 BRE 给药降低了总脂肪酸和脂质氢过氧化物水平，同时增加了肝脏中抗氧化超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶的活性。此外，牛蒡干预减少了 GST-P+ 重塑肿瘤前病变 (PNL) 的大小，并显示出减少其内部肝细胞增殖 (Ki-67) 的趋势。