4.7 Article

Ellagic acid ameliorates paraquat-induced liver injury associated with improved gut microbial profile

Journal

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Volume 293, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118572

Keywords

Ellagic acid; Apoptosis; Inflammatory cells; Oxidative stress; Antioxidant activity; Gut microbiota

Funding

  1. National Natural Science Foundation of China [31672433, 31330075, 31501964, 31560640]
  2. Key Programs of frontier scientific research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [QYZDY-SSW-SMC008]
  3. Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System [CARS-35]
  4. Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China [BX20180096]

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This study found that dietary ellagic acid supplementation can reduce hepatic injury caused by paraquat by modulating cecal microbial communities and antioxidant enzyme activity. This provides a novel nutritional therapeutic strategy for hepatic injury.
Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, causes environmental pollution, and liver injury in humans and animals. As a natural compound in fruits, ellagic acid (EA) shows anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. This study examines the beneficial effects of dietary EA against the paraquat-induced hepatic injury and further explores the underlying molecular mechanisms using a piglet model. Post-weaning piglets are fed basal diet supplemented with 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, or 200 mg/kg EA for 3 weeks. At week 2, hepatic injury is induced by 4 mg/kg paraquat followed by 7 days recovery. EA supplementation significantly mitigates paraquat-induced hepatic fibrosis, steatosis, and high apoptotic rate. In agreement, EA supplementation reduces serum pro-inflammatory levels, ameliorates inflammatory cells infiltration into hepatic tissue, which are associated with suppressed NF-kappa B signaling during paraquat exposure. In addition, EA supplementation significantly improves activities of anti oxidative enzymes which were correlated with activated Nrf2/Keap 1 signaling during paraquat exposure. Furthermore, EA supplementation restores cecal microbial community during paraquat exposure. The protective effect of EA is strongly linked with increased relative abundance of Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus amylovorus. Taken together, EA supplementation effectively reduced the occurrence of hepatic oxidative damage and inflammation induced by paraquat through modulating cecal microbial communities, which provides a novel nutritional therapeutic strategy for hepatic injury.

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