Xanthohumol ameliorates diet-induced liver dysfunction via farnesoid X receptor-dependent and independent signaling

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) plays a critical role in the regulation of lipid and bile acid (BA) homeostasis and hepatic FXR loss results in lipid and BA accumulation, and progression from hepatic steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of xanthohumol (XN), a hop-derived compound mitigating metabolic syndrome, on liver damage induced by diet and FXR deficiency in male and female mice. Wild-type (WT) and liver-specific FXR-null mice (FXRLiver-/-) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) containing XN or the vehicle formation followed by histological characterization, lipid, BA and gene profiling.