Background

Liver fibrosis is a crucial progress to deteriorate liver disease. E Se tea (ES) is an ethnic herbal tea in China that has various biological activities for human beings. However, the traditional application on the treatment of liver disease is not studied.

Purpose

This study is firstly performed to explore the chemical constituents of ES extract together with its anti-hepatic fibrosis effect and potential mechanism on CCl₄ treated mice.

Study design and methods

The chemical constituents of ethanol-aqueous extract from ES (ESE) were analyzed by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The anti-hepatic fibrosis effect of ESE was determined by measuring ALT and AST activities, antioxidative indexes, inflammatory cytokines and collagen protein levels on CCl₄ treated mice. Moreover, H&E, Masson staining and immunohistochemical analysis were performed for evaluating the protective effect of ESE on histopathological changes of liver tissues.

Results

UHPLCHRESI-MS/MS analysis showed that the ESE was rich in flavonoids such as phlorizin, phloretin, quercetin and hyperoside. ESE could significantly reduce the plasma AST and ALT activities. The cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β) expressions were inhibited after ESE administration via suppressing NF-κB pathway. In addition, ESE could decrease MDA accumulation for alleviating CCl₄ induced liver oxidative stress via regulating Nrf2 pathway to promote the expressions of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, HO-1, CAT and NQO1). Moreover, ESE could inhibit the expressions of TGF-β1, Smad2, α-SMA, and collagens Ⅰ and III proteins, thereby effectively alleviate the liver fibrosis.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that ESE could alleviate liver fibrosis through enhancing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory abilities by Nrf2/NF-κB pathway and reducing deposition of liver fibrosis via suppressing TGF-β/Smad pathway.

中文翻译：

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E Se茶提取物通过调节Nrf2/NF-κB/TGF-β1/Smad通路改善CCl4诱导的肝纤维化

背景

肝纤维化是肝病恶化的重要进展。鄂硒茶(ES)是我国的一种民族凉茶，对人体具有多种生物活性。但传统上在肝病治疗上的应用尚无研究。

目的

本研究首先探讨了 ES 提取物的化学成分及其对 CCl ₄治疗小鼠的抗肝纤维化作用和潜在机制。

研究设计和方法

通过 UPLC-ESI-MS/MS 分析了来自 ES (ESE) 的乙醇水提取物的化学成分。ESE的抗肝纤维化作用是通过测量CCl ₄治疗小鼠的ALT和AST活性、抗氧化指标、炎性细胞因子和胶原蛋白水平来确定的。此外，进行H&E、Masson染色和免疫组织化学分析以评估ESE对肝组织组织病理学变化的保护作用。

结果

UHPLC HRESI-MS/MS 分析表明，ESE 富含根皮苷、根皮素、槲皮素和金丝桃苷等类黄酮。ESE可显着降低血浆AST和ALT活性。ESE 给药后通过抑制 NF-κB 通路抑制细胞因子（IL-6、TNF-α、IL-1β）的表达。此外，ESE可通过调节Nrf2途径促进抗氧化酶（SOD、HO-1、CAT和NQO1）的表达，减少MDA积累，从而减轻CCl ₄诱导的肝脏氧化应激。此外，ESE可抑制TGF-β1、Smad2、α-SMA及胶原Ⅰ、Ⅲ蛋白的表达，从而有效缓解肝纤维化。

结论

本研究表明，ESE 可通过 Nrf2/NF-κB 通路增强抗氧化和抗炎能力，并通过抑制TGF -β/Smad 通路减少肝纤维化沉积，从而减轻肝纤维化。