Qushi Huayu decoction ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats by modulating gut microbiota and serum lipids

Yiming Ni; Xin Wang; Qian Wu; Yichen Yao; Yuan Xu; Yuanyuan Li; Qin Feng; Mingmei Zhou; Xiaojun Gou

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1272214

Qushi Huayu decoction ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats by modulating gut microbiota and serum lipids

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Oct 11:14:1272214. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1272214. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yiming Ni^{1

2}, Xin Wang³, Qian Wu⁴, Yichen Yao¹, Yuan Xu², Yuanyuan Li⁴, Qin Feng³, Mingmei Zhou^{1

5}, Xiaojun Gou²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Interdisciplinary Medicine Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Central Laboratory, Baoshan District Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Shanghai, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Institute of Liver Disease, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ NHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation (Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies), Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of TCM Chemical Biology, Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial disease. As a clinical empirical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, Qushi Huayu decoction (QHD) has attracted considerable attention for its advantages in multi-target treatment of NAFLD. However, the intervention mechanism of QHD on abnormal lipid levels and gut microbiota in NAFLD has not been reported.

Methods: Therefore, we verified the therapeutic effect of QHD on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD in rats by physiological parameters and histopathological examination. In addition, studies on gut microbiota and serum lipidomics based on 16S rRNA sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) were conducted to elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of NAFLD in QHD.

Results: The changes in gut microbiota in NAFLD rats are mainly reflected in their diversity and composition, while QHD treated rats restored these changes. The genera Blautia, Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Lachnoclostridium and Bacteroides were predominant in the NAFLD group, whereas, Turicibacter, Blautia, Sporosarcina, Romboutsia, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Allobaculum, and Psychrobacter were predominant in the NAFLD+QHD group. Lipid subclasses, including diacylglycerol (DG), triglycerides (TG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylserine (PS), lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), were significantly different between the NAFLD and the control groups, while QHD treatment significantly altered the levels of DG, TG, PA, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), and platelet activating factor (PAF). Finally, Spearman's correlation analysis showed that NAFLD related differential lipid molecules were mainly associated with the genera of Bacteroides, Blautia, Lachnoclostridium, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Turicibacter, which were also significantly correlated with the biological parameters of NAFLD.

Discussion: Taken together, QHD may exert beneficial effects by regulating the gut microbiota and thus intervening in serum lipids.

Keywords: Qushi Huayu decoction; gut microbiota; lipidomics; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; traditional Chinese medicine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Chromatography, Liquid
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / drug therapy
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / etiology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Triglycerides

Substances

qushi huayu
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Triglycerides

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82074083), the general project of Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (23ZR1447600), the Medical and Health Key Project of Shanghai Baoshan District Science and Technology Commission Science (21-E-63).