Ameliorative effect of total ginsenosides from heat-treated fresh ginseng against cyclophosphamide-induced liver injury in mice

Ping Tang; Guangquan Ren; Hongyang Zou; Sitong Liu; Junshun Zhang; Zhiyi Ai; Yue Hu; Linlin Cui; Bo Nan; Zhicheng Zhang; Yuhua Wang

doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100734

Ameliorative effect of total ginsenosides from heat-treated fresh ginseng against cyclophosphamide-induced liver injury in mice

Curr Res Food Sci. 2024 Apr 17:8:100734. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100734. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Ping Tang^{1

2}, Guangquan Ren^{1

2

3}, Hongyang Zou^{1

2}, Sitong Liu^{1

2}, Junshun Zhang^{1

2}, Zhiyi Ai^{1

2}, Yue Hu^{1

2}, Linlin Cui^{1

2}, Bo Nan^{1

2}, Zhicheng Zhang^{2

3}, Yuhua Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China.
² Jilin Province Innovation Center for Food Biological Manufacture, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China.
³ International Football Education School, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of heat treatment on the conversion of ginsenoside and the ameliorative effect of heat-treated total ginsenoside (HG) from fresh ginseng on cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced liver injury. LC-MS analysis revealed that the content of rare ginsenosides increased markedly after heat treatment. HG significantly attenuated CTX-induced hepatic histopathological injury in mice. Western blotting analysis showed that untreated total ginsenoside (UG) and HG regulated the Nrf2/HO-1 and TLR4/MAPK pathways. Importantly, these results may be relevant to the modulation of the intestinal flora. UG and HG significantly increased the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing bacteria Lactobacillus and reduced the LPS-producing bacteria Bacteroides and Parabacteroides. These changes in intestinal flora affected the levels of TNF-α, LPS and SCFAs. In short, UG and HG alleviated CTX-induced liver injury by regulating the intestinal flora and the LPS-TLR4-MAPK pathway, and HG was more effective. HG has the potential to be a functional food that can alleviate chemical liver injury.

Keywords: Cyclophosphamide; Ginseng; Heat treatment; Liver injury; Total ginsenoside.