Plant-derived bioactive compounds regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome to treat NAFLD

Qian Huang; Xin Xin; QinMei Sun; Ziming An; Xiaojun Gou; Qin Feng

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.896899

Plant-derived bioactive compounds regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome to treat NAFLD

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Aug 9:13:896899. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.896899. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qian Huang¹, Xin Xin¹, QinMei Sun¹, Ziming An¹, Xiaojun Gou², Qin Feng^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Liver Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Central Laboratory, Baoshan District Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Clinical Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Liver and Kidney Diseases, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a liver disorder characterized by abnormal accumulation of hepatic fat and inflammatory response with complex pathogenesis. Over activation of the pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome triggers the secretion of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, induces pyroptosis, and promotes the release of a large number of pro-inflammatory proteins. All of which contribute to the development of NAFLD. There is a great deal of evidence indicating that plant-derived active ingredients are effective and safe for NAFLD management. This review aims to summarize the research progress of 31 active plant-derived components (terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and phenols) that alleviate lipid deposition, inflammation, and pyroptosis by acting on the NLRP3 inflammasome studied in both in vitro and in vivo NAFLD models. These studies confirmed that the NLRP3 inflammasome and its related genes play a key role in NAFLD amelioration, providing a starting point for further study on the correlation of plant-derived compounds treatment with the NLRP3 inflammasome and NAFLD.

Keywords: NLRP3 inflammasome; alkaloids; flavonoids; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; phenols; plant-derived active ingredients; terpenoids.

Publication types

Review