Artemisia capillaris Thunb Aqueous Extract regulates the structure of intestinal microbiota and improves the efficiency of bile acid cycling to improve MASLD in mice

With the global epidemic of metabolic diseases, Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease. This study assessed the therapeutic potential of Artemisia capillaris extract (ACTE) in an MASLD mouse model induced by a high-fat diet (HFD).
The study comprehensively elucidated the mechanisms underlying ACTE’s effects via phenotypic observations, biochemical assays, 16S rRNA sequencing, bile acid-targeted metabolomics, and molecular biology approaches. The results showed that ACTE could improve the obesity signs and hepatic lipid accumulation in MASLD mice, regulate the structure of intestinal microbiota, activate hepatic FXR/SHP signaling and ileal FXR/FGF15 signaling, improve the efficiency of enterohepatic recycling of bile acids, and enhance the integrity of intestinal barriers, and alleviate inflammation and hepatic pyroptosis by inhibiting NF-κB and NLRP3 signaling pathways. In addition, the active ingredients in ACTE were validated by molecular docking assays for their regulatory effects on key metabolic pathways. These findings provide a potential intervention strategy for ACTE to counteract MASLD through the interaction between gut microbiota and the liver.