FOOD SCIENCE ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 173-178.doi: 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-20191218-215

• Nutrition & Hygiene • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect and Mechanism of Mulberry Leaf Alkaloid on Improving Hepatic Fibrosis in Mice

WANG Zuwen, SHEN Yihong, HUANG Xianzhi, DING Xiaowen   

  1. (1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Processing and Storage of Agricultural Products, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Food Science and Technology Education, College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Chongqing 400716, China)
  • Published:2021-02-25

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Abstract: Objective: To investigate the regulatory effects of mulberry leaf alkaloid on the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smads pathway and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), and to explore its action mechanism in alleviating hepatic fibrosis in mice. Methods: Hepatic fibrosis in mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 10% (V/V) CCl4 in olive oil at a dose of 5 mL/kg mb every other day combined with feeding a high-fat diet for 8 consecutive weeks. Thereafter, the mice in the control and model groups were given distilled water, those in the low-, medium- and high-dose treatment groups were intragastrically administered with 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg mb mulberry leaf alkaloid, and those in the positive drug group were gavaged with 100 mg/kg of silibinin for 45 days. The contents of hepatic α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I (Col I) and collagen III (Col III) in mice were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, and the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1, Smad3, Smad4, Smad7, MMP-13 and TIMP-1 were detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: Compared with the model group, the contents of α-SMA, collagen I and collagen III in the high-dose group decreased by 19.55%, 19.93% and 13.84% (P < 0.05), respectively. Similarly, the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1, Smad3, Smad4 and TIMP-1 significantly decreased by 59.04%, 56.73%, 50.70% and 49.09% (P < 0.05), respectively. Moreover, Smad7 and MMP-13 mRNA expression levels increased by 48.29% and 25.72% (P < 0.05), respectively. Conclusion: Mulberry leaf alkaloids can improve hepatic fibrosis in mice, and its underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway related factors and TIMP-1 and MMP-13 mRNA expression.

Key words: mulberry leaf alkaloid; hepatic fibrosis; transforming growth factor-β1/Smads signaling pathway; matrix metalloproteinase-13; inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1

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