Polysaccharide from Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Attenuates the Progress of Obesity-Induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Modulating Intestinal Microbiota-Related Gut–Liver Axis

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide, thus treatments for it have attracted lots of interest. In this study, the Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (SMRR) polysaccharide was isolated by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation, and then purified by DEAE anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. With a high-fat-diet-induced obesity/NAFLD mouse model, we found that consumption of the SMRR polysaccharide could remarkably reverse obesity and its related progress of NAFLD, including attenuated hepatocellular steatosis, hepatic fibrosis and inflammation. In addition, we also reveal the potential mechanism behind these is that the SMRR polysaccharide could regulate the gut–liver axis by modulating the homeostasis of gut microbiota and thereby improving intestinal function.