Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (4): 788-797.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.04.002
• Original Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles
HUANG Yuwei1, CAI Yuting1, LI Zanjin1, WU Zicong1, GUO Lianxia1, LIN Luomin1, DONG Linlin3, WU Baojian1, DONG Dong2(
)
Received:2025-04-25
Accepted:2025-10-15
Online:2026-08-15
Published:2026-08-08
Contact:
Dr. DONG Dong, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. dd2015@jnu.edu.cn,Telephone: +86-18617327324About author:HUANG Yuwei and CAI Yuting are co-first authors and contributed equally to this work
Supported by:HUANG Yuwei, CAI Yuting, LI Zanjin, WU Zicong, GUO Lianxia, LIN Luomin, DONG Linlin, WU Baojian, DONG Dong. Berberine alleviates alcoholic liver disease via activating intestinal nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2026, 46(4): 788-797.
Figure 1 Berberine attenuated both chronic and acute alcohol induced liver injury A: levels of Biochemical parameters in CD-fed, EtOH-fed and EtOH-fed+BBR mice (n = 10); A1: plasma ALT; A2: plasma TG; A3: plasma TC; hepatic TG. B: ORO and HE staining of liver tissues in Ctrl-fed, EtOH-fed and EtOH-fed + BBR mice (n = 3); B1: CD-fed group; B2: EtOH-fed group; B3: EtOH-fed + BBR group; B4: CD-fed group; B5: EtOH-fed group; B6: EtOH-fed + BBR group; CD-fed group: control diet; EtOH-fed group: ethanol-modified diet; EtOH-fed + BBR group: ethanol-modified diet + received BBR at a dose of 100 mg/kg by gavage once every day for 16 d; ALT: alanine transaminase; TG: triglyceride; TC: triglyceride; ORO: oil Red o; HE: hematoxylin-eosin; CD-fed: control diet; EtOH-fed: ethanol-modified diet; BBR: berberine. Statistical analyses were measured using one-way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey correction for multiple comparisons. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Compared with the CD-fed group, aP < 0.05; compared with the EtOH-fed group, bP < 0.05.
Figure 2 Berberine modulated hepatic lipid metabolism via activating the intestinal REV-ERBα A: REV-ERBα and BMAL1 protein expression of CD-fed (1), EtOH-fed (2), and EtOH-fed + BBR (3) mice in the intestine; B: REV-ERBα and BMAL1 protein expression of CD-fed (1), EtOH-fed (2), and EtOH-fed + BBR (3) mice in the liver; C: Schematic diagram of intestinal REV-ERBα controls hepatic lipid metabolism; D: FADS2 protein expression of CD-fed (1), EtOH-fed (2), and EtOH-fed + BBR (3) mice in the intestine; E: SREBP-1c, ACACA, SCD1 and ELOVL6 protein expression of CD-fed (1), EtOH-fed (2), and EtOH-fed + BBR (3) mice in the liver; CD-fed group: control diet; EtOH-fed group: ethanol-modified diet; EtOH-fed + BBR group: ethanol-modified diet + received BBR at a dose of 100 mg/kg by gavage once every day for 16 d. REV-ERBα: nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1; BMAL1: aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like; FADS2: fatty acid desaturase 2; SREBP-1c: sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1; ACACA: acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase alpha; SCD1: stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1; ELOVL6: elongation of long-chain fatty acids family member 6; CD-fed: control diet; EtOH-fed: ethanol-modified diet; BBR: berberine.
Figure 3 Berberine’s protection effect on alcohol-induced liver injury was lost in Rev-erbα-iKO mice A: levels of biochemical parameters in Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH, Rev-erbα-flox-BBR, Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH and Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR mice (n = 10); A1: plasma ALT; A2: plasma TG; A3: plasma TC; B: ORO and HE staining of liver tissues in Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH, Rev-erbα-flox-BBR, Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH and Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR mice (n = 3); B1: Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH group; B2: Rev-erbα-flox-BBR group; B3: Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH group; B4: Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR group; C: SREBP-1c, ACACA, SCD1 and ELOVL6 protein expression of Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH (1), Rev-erbα-flox-BBR (2), Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH (3) and Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR (4) mice in the liver; D: levels of PUFAs in Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH, Rev-erbα-flox-BBR, Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH and Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR mice (n = 3). Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH group: Rev-erbα-flox mice received EtOH at a dose of 6 g/kg by gavage once every day for 3 d; Rev-erbα-flox-BBR group: Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH group + received BBR at a dose of 300 mg/kg by gavage once every day for 6 d; Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH group: Rev-erbα-iKO mice received EtOH at a dose of 6 g/kg by gavage once every day for 3 d; Rev-erbα-iKO-BBR group: Rev-erbα-iKO-EtOH group + received BBR at a dose of 300 mg/kg by gavage once every day for 6 d. Rev-erbα: nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1; ALT: alanine transaminase; TG: triglyceride; TC: triglyceride; ORO: oil Red o; SREBP-1c: sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1; ACACA: acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase alpha; SCD1: stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1; ELOVL6: elongation of long-chain fatty acids family member 6; EtOH: ethanol; iKO: intestinal epithelial cell conditional knockout; BBR: berberine. Statistical analyses were measured using two-way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey correction for multiple comparisons. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Compared with the Rev-erbα-flox-EtOH group, aP < 0.05.
Figure 4 Effect of berberine on alcohol-induced injury was dosing time dependent A: levels of biochemical parameters in ZT6-Ctrl, ZT6-EtOH, ZT18-Ctrl and ZT18-EtOH mice (n = 10); A1: plasma ALT; A2: plasma TG; A3: plasma TC; A4: hepatic TG; B: ORO and HE staining of liver tissues in ZT6-Ctrl, ZT6-EtOH, ZT18-Ctrl and ZT18-EtOH mice (n = 3); B1: ZT6-Ctrl group; B2: ZT6-EtOH group; B3: ZT18-Ctrl group; B4: ZT18-EtOH; B5: ZT6-Ctrl group; B6: ZT6-EtOH group; B7: ZT18-Ctrl group; B8: ZT18-EtOH group; C: levels of biochemical parameters in EtOH-Vehicle (ZT6), EtOH-BBR (ZT6), EtOH-Vehicle (ZT18) and EtOH-BBR (ZT18) mice (n = 10); EtOH-Vehicle (ZT6) group: EtOH group + received Vehicle by gavage at ZT6 for 6 d; EtOH-BBR (ZT6) group: EtOH group + received 300 mg/kg EtOH by gavage at ZT6 for 6 d; EtOH-Vehicle (ZT18) group: EtOH group + received Vehicle by gavage at ZT18 for 6 d; EtOH-BBR (ZT18) group: EtOH group + received 300 mg/kg EtOH by gavage at ZT18 for 6 d. ALT: alanine transaminase; ZT: zeitgeber time; TG: triglyceride; TC: triglyceride; ORO: oil Red o; HE: hematoxylin-eosin; EtOH: ethanol; BBR: berberine. Statistical analyses were measured using two-way analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey correction for multiple comparisons. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Compared with the EtOH-Vehicle (ZT6) group, aP < 0.05; compared with the EtOH-Vehicle (ZT18) group, bP < 0.05.
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