Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a serious worldwide health problem. Ginsenoside Rc is a major active ingredient isolated from Panax ginseng, whose pharmacological effects counteract oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid accumulation. However, it is still unclear whether ginsenoside Rc might exert beneficial effects on alcohol-induced liver injury. To this aim, mice primary hepatocytes (MPHs) were challenged with alcohol to test ginsenoside Rc's effects on their intracellular alcohol metabolism. C57BL/6J mice or SIRT6alb-/- mice were chronically fed a diet with added alcohol or given a single gavage of alcohol with or without ginsenoside Rc. Analyses of alcohol metabolism, oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid metabolism, and RNaseq expression were conducted to explore potential targets exploited by ginsenoside Rc to protect against ALD. Our results showed that ginsenoside Rc attenuated alcohol-induced liver injury by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid accumulation both in vivo and in vitro. Ginsenoside Rc did increase the deacetylase activity of SIRT6, thereby lowering acetylated NRF2 levels, which elevated NRF2's stability, and subsequently exerting an antioxidant effect. In keeping with this, the hepatic knockout of SIRT6 almost abolished the hepatoprotective effects of ginsenoside Rc against ALD. Therefore, our results suggest that ginsenoside Rc attenuated hepatocytes' damage and oxidative stress in ALD by up-regulating the SIRT6/NRF2 pathway. Hence, ginsenoside Rc may be a promising drug to treat or relieve ALD.
Keywords: Alcoholic liver disease; Ginsenosides Rc; NRF2; Oxidative stress; SIRT6.