Sanguisorba officinalis L. and Its Derived Compounds Inhibit Liver Fibrosis in TGF-β1-treated LX-2 Hepatic Stellate Cells

Abstract

Liver fibrosis, a further stage of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is known to be significantly less likely to recover than NASH. Sanguisorba officinalis L. (SO) is a plant that has been reported as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, with beneficial effects in improving metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Gallic acid (GA), Ziyuglycoside I (ZG1), and Ziyuglycoside II (ZG2) are well known compounds present in SO root ethanol extract (SOEE). We validated the inhibitory effect of SOEE on liver fibrosis in a previous study using an animal model. In this study, we investigated which derived compounds drive the inhibitory effect of liver fibrosis using TGF-β1-treated LX-2 hepatic stellate cells. By quantitative RT-PCR and western blot, we found that SOEE and its derived compounds (GA, ZG1 and ZG2) inhibit the expression of liver fibrosis-related genes and regulate MAPK signaling pathways. These results suggest that SOEE and its derived compounds may be effective in alleviating the liver fibrosis by mediating MAPK in LX-2 cells.