Li Chenyu, Zhang Qi, Chen Zijun, Hu Weiming, Liu Fen
Basic Medical Experiment Center, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, JiangXi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China.
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 May 22;16:1586238. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1586238. eCollection 2025.
Globally, alcohol usage is the third-leading risk factor for diseases, and alcohol-induced alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has become a global public health problem. ALD is characterized by oxidative stress and immune damage in the liver caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Furthermore, alcohol and its metabolites disrupt the health of the intestinal tract and cause secondary liver damage through the gut-liver axis.
The underlying mechanisms of ALD are complex. Currently, there are no safe and effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of ALD; some food plants used as medicines (FPUM) have demonstrated promising effects in combating this condition.
In this review, we analyze the pathogenesis of ALD and explore the mechanisms of action of certain FPUM in preventing and treating ALD. Different mechanisms include activation of alcohol metabolism-related enzymes, maintenance of mitochondrial stability, reduction of oxidative stress damage caused by alcohol intake, regulation of cytokine levels, and modulation of the gut microbiota. The review also explores potential future research directions and summarizes insights for developing novel therapeutic agents and components.
Future research on FPUM for the treatment of ALD could explore promising avenues such as multi-herb combinations, multi-component formulations, and side effect reduction strategies, demonstrating that the development of herbal medicine still holds boundless potential.
在全球范围内，饮酒是导致疾病的第三大风险因素，酒精引起的酒精性肝病（ALD）已成为一个全球性的公共卫生问题。ALD的特征是过量饮酒导致肝脏中的氧化应激和免疫损伤。此外，酒精及其代谢产物会破坏肠道健康，并通过肠-肝轴导致继发性肝损伤。
ALD的潜在机制很复杂。目前，尚无安全有效的药物用于预防和治疗ALD；一些用作药物的食用植物（FPUM）在对抗这种疾病方面已显示出有前景的效果。
在本综述中，我们分析了ALD的发病机制，并探讨了某些FPUM在预防和治疗ALD中的作用机制。不同的机制包括激活酒精代谢相关酶、维持线粒体稳定性、减少饮酒引起的氧化应激损伤、调节细胞因子水平以及调节肠道微生物群。该综述还探讨了未来潜在的研究方向，并总结了开发新型治疗药物和成分的见解。
未来关于FPUM治疗ALD的研究可以探索多草药组合、多成分制剂和减少副作用策略等有前景的途径，这表明草药医学的发展仍然具有无限潜力。
