Aronia melanocarpa Prevents Alcohol-Induced Chronic Liver Injury via Regulation of Nrf2 Signaling in C57BL6 Mice

Abstract EN

Aronia melanocarpa (AM), which is rich in anthocyanins and procyanidins, has been reported to exert antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.

This study aimed to systematically analyze the components of AM and explore its effects on alcohol-induced chronic liver injury in mice.

A component analysis of AM revealed 17 types of fatty acids, 17 types of amino acids, 8 types of minerals, and 3 types of nucleotides.

Chronic alcohol-induced liver injury was established in mice via gradient alcohol feeding over a period of 6 months, with test groups orally receiving AM in the last 6 weeks.

AM administration yielded potential hepatoprotective effects by alleviating weight gain and changes in organ indexes, decreasing the ratio of alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase, reducing lipid peroxidation, enhancing antioxidant activities, decreasing oxidation-related factor levels, and regulating inflammatory cytokine levels.

Histological analyses suggest that AM treatment markedly prevented organ damage in alcohol-exposed mice.

Furthermore, AM activated nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 2 (Nrf2) by downregulating the expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1, resulting in elevated downstream antioxidative enzyme levels.

AM activated Nrf2 via modulation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-hydroxykinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway.

Altogether, AM prevented alcohol-induced liver injury, potentially by suppressing oxidative stress via the Nrf2 signaling pathway.