Anneslea fragrans Wall. (AF) is an important medicinal and edible plant in China. The principal objectives of this study are to explore the hepatoprotective effect of ethanol-aqueous (AFE) and hot-water (AFW) extracts in vitro and in vivo. UPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis showed that AFW and AFE are rich in dihydrochalcones. Both AFW and AFE significantly up-regulated the expressions of SOD, CAT and GSH, reduced the MDA content in acetaminophen (APAP)-induced HepG2 cells, and suppressed the expressions of NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in LPS-induced RAW246.7 cells. In APAP-induced mice, AFW and AFE administration significantly decreased the plasma levels of AST and ALT, and improved liver tissue damage, the collagen deposition and fibrosis formation. Moreover, AFW and AFE decreased the MDA and ROS accumulations via activating Nrf2 pathway to increase the hepatic GSH contents and activities of SOD, CAT, HO-1, and NQO-1, reduced the levels of NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 by suppressing the JNK/p38/ERK/NF-κB pathways, and alleviated apoptosis via regulating Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3/9 protein expressions. This study provides a new sight that AFW and AFE may have a potential natural resource for the treatment of liver injury.
Keywords: Anneslea fragrans; Apoptosis; Hepatoprotective; JNK/p38/NF-κB pathways; Nrf2.
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