Geniposide plus chlorogenic acid reverses nonalcoholic steatohepatitis via gut microbiota and bile acid signaling in a mouse model in vivo

Background: Geniposide and chlorogenic acid are the major active ingredients in Yinchenhao Decoction and are widely used as herbal medicines in Asia. This study further assessed their effects on improvement of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in a mouse model and explored the underlying molecular events in vivo.Methods: Male C57BL/6 and farnesoid X receptor knockout (FXR-/-) mice were used to establish the NASH model and were treated with or without geniposide, chlorogenic acid, obeticholic acid (OCA), and antibiotics for assessment of the serum and tissue levels of various biochemical parameters, bile acid, DNA sequencing of bacterial 16S amplicon, protein expression, and histology.