Water extracts of Pueraria thomsonii Radix ameliorates alcoholic liver disease via PI3K/AKT and NOX4/ROS pathways

Pueraria thomsonii Radix. as an important edible and medicinal plant in China, its effects and mechanisms on alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remain unclear. Herein, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of the water extracts of Pueraria thomsonii (WEPT) in the ALD rat model induced by Chinese Baijiu. The results revealed that, a total of 23 compounds were obtained from the WEPT by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Compared with the model group, WEPT group showed a significant decrease in liver index and serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) levels in the livers, with a significant increase in ethanol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) levels in the livers, significantly reduced the expression of HSP90, p-AKT, p-IKK and NOX4 in the liver tissues. Our study demonstrates that Pueraria thomsonii Radix may be beneficial food for alcoholic liver disease, by inhibited the PI3K/AKT and NOX4/ROS signaling pathways.