Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Sea Buckthorn Sterol against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Rats

Changting Sheng; Yang Guo; Jing Ma; Eun-Kyung Hong; Benyin Zhang; Yongjing Yang; Xiaofeng Zhang; Dejun Zhang

doi:10.3390/molecules27072224

Molecules (Mar 2022)

Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Sea Buckthorn Sterol against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Rats

Changting Sheng,
Yang Guo,
Jing Ma,
Eun-Kyung Hong,
Benyin Zhang,
Yongjing Yang,
Xiaofeng Zhang,
Dejun Zhang

Affiliations

Changting Sheng: College of Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Yang Guo: College of Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Jing Ma: College of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Eun-Kyung Hong: Medvill Co., Ltd., Medvill Research Institute, Seoul 100744, Korea
Benyin Zhang: College of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Yongjing Yang: College of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Xiaofeng Zhang: College of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Dejun Zhang: College of Ecological and Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072224
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 27, no. 7
p. 2224

Abstract

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The present study was designed to examine the efficacy and protection mechanisms of sea buckthorn sterol (SBS) against acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. Five-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into six groups and fed with saline (Group BG), 50% CCl4 (Group MG), or bifendate 200 mg/kg (Group DDB), or treated with low-dose (Group LD), medium-dose (Group MD), or high-dose (Group HD) SBS. This study, for the first time, observed the protection of SBS against CCl4-induced liver injury in rats and its underlying mechanisms. Investigation of enzyme activities showed that SBS-fed rats exhibited a significant alleviation of inflammatory lesions, as evidenced by the decrease in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT). In addition, compared to the MG group, the increased indices (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and total protein (TP)) of lipid peroxidation and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver tissues of SBS-treated groups showed the anti-lipid peroxidation effects of SBS. Using the wide range of targeted technologies and a combination of means (UPLC-MS/MS detection platform, self-built database, and multivariate statistical analysis), the addition of SBS was found to restore the expression of metabolic pathways (e.g., L-malic acid, N-acetyl-aspartic acid, N-acetyl-l-alanine, etc.) in rats, which means that the metabolic damage induced by CCl4 was alleviated. Furthermore, transcriptomics was employed to analyze and compare gene expression levels of different groups. It showed that the expressions of genes (Cyp1a1, Noct, and TUBB6) related to liver injury were regulated by SBS. In conclusion, SBS exhibited protective effects against CCl4-induced liver injury in rats. The liver protection mechanism of SBS is probably related to the regulation of metabolic disorders, anti-lipid peroxidation, and inhibition of the inflammatory response.

Published in Molecules

ISSN: 1420-3049 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

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