Research Article Details
Article ID: | A16463 |
PMID: | 28373762 |
Source: | World J Gastroenterol |
Title: | Traditional Chinese herbal extracts inducing autophagy as a novel approach in therapy of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. |
Abstract: | Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver diseases around the world due to the modern sedentary and food-abundant lifestyle, which is characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver related with causes other than alcohol abuse. It is widely acknowledged that insulin resistance, dysfunctional lipid metabolism, endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis/necrosis may all contribute to NAFLD. Autophagy is a protective self-digestion of intracellular organelles, including lipid droplets (lipophagy), in response to stress to maintain homeostasis. Lipophagy is another pathway for lipid degradation besides lipolysis. It is reported that impaired autophagy also contributes to NAFLD. Some studies have suggested that the histological characteristics of NAFLD (steatosis, lobular inflammation, and peri-sinusoid fibrosis) might be improved by treatment with traditional Chinese herbal extracts, while autophagy may be induced. This review will provide insights into the characteristics of autophagy in NAFLD and the related role/mechanisms of autophagy induced by traditional Chinese herbal extracts such as resveratrol, Lycium barbarum polysaccharides, dioscin, bergamot polyphenol fraction, capsaicin, and garlic-derived S-allylmercaptocysteine, which may inhibit the progression of NAFLD. Regulation of autophagy/lipophagy with traditional Chinese herbal extracts may be a novel approach for treating NAFLD, and the molecular mechanisms should be elucidated further in the near future. |
DOI: | 10.3748/wjg.v23.i11.1964 |

Strategy ID | Therapy Strategy | Synonyms | Therapy Targets | Therapy Drugs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
S01 | Improve insulin resistance | insulin sensitizer; insulin resistance; glucose tolerance | Biguanide: increases 5-AMP activated protein kinase signaling; SGLT-2 inhibitor; Thiazalidinedione: selective PPAR-γ agonists; GLP-1 agonist | Metformin; Empagliflozin; Canagliflozin; Rosiglitazone; Pioglitazone; Liraglutide | Details |
S02 | Enhance lipid metabolism | triglyceride-lowering; lipid tolerance; lipid metabolism | 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) inhibitor; Decreases intestinal cholesterol absorption; FXR agonist; ACC inhibitor; FAS inhibitor; DGAT2 inhibitor; SCD-1 inhibitor | Atorvastatin; Ezetimibe; Obeticholic Acid; GS-9674; GS-0976; TVB-2640; IONIS-DGAT2rx; Aramchol; | Details |
S03 | Anti-fibrosis | fibrosis | Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB); CCR2/CCR5 antagonist; Thyroid receptor β agonist; PEGylated human FGF21 analogue; Monoclonal antibody to lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2); Galectin-3 inhibitor; FGF19 variant | Losartan; Cenicriviroc; VK-2809; MGL-3196; Pegbelfermin; Simtuzumab; GR-MD-02; NGM282 | Details |
S04 | Anti-oxidative stress | oxidative stress | α-tocopherol: antioxidant | Vitamin E | Details |
S13 | Anti-apoptosis | hepatocyte apoptosis; hepatic autophagy; apoptosis | Pan-caspase inhibitor | Emricasan | Details |
Diseases ID | DO ID | Disease Name | Definition | Class | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I05 | 9352 | Type 2 diabetes mellitus | A diabetes that is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. A diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_2 | disease of metabolism/inherited metabolic disorder/ carbohydrate metabolic disorder/glucose metabolism disease/diabetes/ diabetes mellitus | Details |
Drug ID | Drug Name | Type | DrugBank ID | Targets | Category | Latest Progress | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
D579 | Emfilermin | Miscellany | -- | adipocytes | Enhance lipid metabolism | Under investigation | Details |
D301 | Resveratrol | Chemical drug | DB02709 | ALOX15; ALOX5; AHR; NR1I2; NR1I3 | Anticancer agent | Under clinical trials | Details |
D147 | Garlic | Biological drug | DB10532 | -- | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D182 | Insulin | Biological drug | DB00030 | INSR agonist; CPE modulator&product of | -- | Under clinical trials | Details |
D030 | Bergamot | Biological drug | DB14335 | -- | Enhance lipid metabolism | Under clinical trials | Details |