Hepatoprotective effects of a novel polysaccharide from Aronia melanocarpa against alcohol-induced liver injury via gut microbiota modulation.

BACKGROUND

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remains a major global health burden and a leading cause of liver-related morbidity. Naturally derived polysaccharides have attracted increasing attention for their potential in ALD management.

RESULTS

In this study, a novel polysaccharide (AMP) was isolated and purified from Aronia melanocarpa. Structural characterization showed that AMP had a molecular weight of 27.5 kDa, exhibited excellent thermal stability, and was primarily composed of glucose, mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, and xylose. To evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of AMP, an ALD mouse model was established through chronic ethanol administration. AMP demonstrated hepatoprotective potential against alcohol-induced liver injury by ameliorating hepatic damage, suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)), enhancing activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)) and glutathione (GSH) content, and decreasing levels of oxidative byproducts (nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA)). 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing revealed that AMP effectively reversed alcohol-induced gut dysbiosis. Notably, AMP not only increased beneficial bacterial families such as Bacteroidaceae and Lachnospiraceae, while decreasing the proportions of Erysipelotrichaceae and Ruminococcaceae, but also remodeled the gut mycobiome by enriching the protective fungus Kazachstania and depleting pro-inflammatory fungi including Mortierella and Candida. Notably, these protective effects may be mediated through regulation of 'bacteria-fungi' interactions.

CONCLUSION

AMP is a promising therapeutic agent that combines direct hepatoprotection for gut microbiota restoration. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.