2. Academic Validation
  3. Poncirin ameliorates alcoholic liver injury by regulating lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in a PPARα dependent manner

Poncirin ameliorates alcoholic liver injury by regulating lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in a PPARα dependent manner

  • Phytomedicine. 2025 May:140:156598. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2025.156598.
Jiawen Huang 1,  Kaili Zhou 2,  Jiayu Li 2,  Zaibin Xu 2,  Xiaoqin Wu 2,  Tingting Chen 2,  Danna Wang 2,  Huafeng Pan 2,  Shuiqing Huang 3,  Tianwen Liu 4,  Zhuohui Luo 5,  Yong Gao 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Afliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, PR China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, PR China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, PR China. Electronic address: hsq@gzucm.edu.cn.
  • 4 Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Afliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, PR China. Electronic address: lianwenliu@gzucm.edu.cn.
  • 5 Hainan Pharmaceutical Research and Development Science Park, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, PR China; Research Center for Drug Safety Evaluation of Hainan Province, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, PR China. Electronic address: zhuohuiluo@hainmc.edu.cn.
  • 6 Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Afliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405, PR China. Electronic address: gaoyong@gzucm.edu.cn.
PMID: 40056635 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2025.156598
Abstract

Background: Poncirin (PO) is a citrus flavonoid with various of functional effect including cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury, colitis, Cancer, et al. Considering the role of PO in improving inflammation and lipid metabolism, it may have potential therapeutic effects on alcoholic liver injury (ALI), but there are currently no relevant reports.

Purpose: Current study aimed to explore the protective effect of PO on preventing ALI.

Methods: A chronic ethanol-fed mice was used as ALI-mice model and ethanol-induced mouse primary hepatocytes (MPHs) as ALI-cells model. Multiple Molecular Biology analysis methods are used to evaluate PO's efficacy.

Results: Both in vivo and in vitro, PO improved the inflammatory response and lipid deposition induced by ethanol. According to RNA-seq analysis, Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα) had been found as a potential target, followed by the experiment validation using Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA), Western bolt analysis as well as qPCR analysis. In addition, the protective effect of PO was reduced or disappeared in PPARα-/- ALI mice, both in vivo and in vitro.

Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate the role of PO in preventing ALI by targeting lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response by partly targeting the PPARα pathway, providing a fundamental basis for the use of PO as a functional food to alleviate ALI.

Keywords

Alcoholic liver injury; Inflammatory response; Lipid metabolism; PPARα; Poncirin.

Figures
Products