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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1439204
This article is part of the Research Topic The Gut-Liver Axis: the Main Role of Microbiome in Liver Diseases View all 9 articles

Licorice processing involving function of Evodiae Fructus on liver inflammation and oxidative stress are associated with intestinal mucosal microbiota

Provisionally accepted
Xuejuan Liang Xuejuan Liang 1Qixue Tian Qixue Tian 2,3*Linglong Chen Linglong Chen 1,3*Yanbing Zhang Yanbing Zhang 4*Yanmei Peng Yanmei Peng 1*
  • 1 Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
  • 2 Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Changsha, China
  • 3 National Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Inheritance Base of the Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
  • 4 Cili County Chinese Medicine Hospital, Zhangjiajie, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of licorice processing of different Evodiae Fructus (EF) specifications on liver inflammation and oxidative stress associated with the intestinal mucosal microbiota.The 25 Kunming mice were divided into control (MCN), raw small-flowered Evodiae Fructus (MRSEF), raw medium-flowered EF (MRMEF), licorice-processed small-flowered EF (MLSEF), and licorice-processed medium-flowered EF (MLSEF) groups. The EF intervention groups were given different specifications of EF extract solutions by gavage. After 21 days, indices of liver inflammation and oxidative stress and intestinal mucosal microbiota were measured in mice.Results: Compared with the MCN, malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly increased in the MRMEF. Although the trends of oxidative stress and inflammatory indexes in the MLSEF and MLMEF were consistent with those in the raw EF groups, the changes were smaller than those in the raw EF groups. Compared to the raw EF groups, the MLSEF and MLMEF showed closer approximations of metabolic function to the MCN. The abundance of Corynebacterium in MRMEF was significantly lower than that in the MCN, and it was not significantly different from the MCN after licorice processing. The probiotic Candidatus Arthromitus was enriched in the MLSEF. The probiotic Lactobacillus was enriched in the MLMEF. Correlation analysis revealed significant negative correlations between Corynebacterium with IL-6 and some metabolic functions.The effects of medium-flowered EF on oxidative stress and inflammatory factors in the liver of mice were stronger than those of small-flowered EF. The licorice processing can reduce this difference by modulating the abundance of Corynebacterium and intestinal mucosal metabolic function.

    Keywords: Small-flowered Evodiae Fructus, medium-flowered Evodiae Fructus, specification, licorice processing, liver inflammation, Oxidative Stress, Intestinal mucosal microbiota

    Received: 13 Jun 2024; Accepted: 25 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liang, Tian, Chen, Zhang and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Qixue Tian, Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Changsha, China
    Linglong Chen, Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
    Yanbing Zhang, Cili County Chinese Medicine Hospital, Zhangjiajie, China
    Yanmei Peng, Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.