Exocarpium Citri Grandis Ameliorates Metabolic Disorders by Inhibiting Inflammatory Responses and NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation

作者：Tingting Chen, Xiaoqin Wu, Danna Wang, Tianqi Cui, Jiayu Li, Ziyi Zhang, Min Qiu, Chenlu Ma, Hengrui Liu, Yong Gao, Jiangtao Zeng, Hang Li, Jiawen Huang · 发表于：Food Science & Nutrition · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/fsn3.71074 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Inflammasome and immune disorders、Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases、Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Diseases

ABSTRACT Exocarpium Citri Grandis (ECG, known as Huajuhong in Chinese), as the fruit that can be used both as medicine and food, has gained attention for its hypolipidemic and anti‐obesity effects. However, its lipid‐lowering potential and ability to alleviate metabolic syndrome (MS) remain unexplored. This study aimed to confirm the therapeutic effects of ECG on postmenopausal MS and investigate its underlying mechanisms. An animal model of female postmenopausal MS was established using 8‐week‐old ovariectomized ( OVX ) mice. Starting from the third week after model establishment, the mice were orally administered at the doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg for 12 consecutive weeks. HepG2 cells co‐induced by oleic acid and palmitic acid ( OA & PA ) were used as an in vitro model. Ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐Q‐Exactive ( UHPLC ‐Q‐Exactive) analysis, histological examination, immunofluorescence, network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and other methods were employed for further analysis. ECG contains ingredients such as naringin and narirutin. In vitro experiments showed that ECG intervention significantly reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and downregulated the mRNA expression of Srebp1, G6, Fas, Pgc1α, Acc, Casp1, Nfkb, IL1β, IL6, Txnip, Nlrp3 , and ASC . Additionally, ECG inhibited the protein expression of NF‐κB, Txnip, NLRP3, ASC, and Caspase‐1, while enhancing the expression of Trx‐1. In vivo, ECG alleviated...