Advances in traditional Chinese medicine treatment of liver fibrosis in metabolic associated fatty liver disease
- VernacularTitle:代谢相关脂肪性肝病肝纤维化的中医药治疗进展
- Author:
Zhijia ZHOU
1
;
Xinyue LI
2
;
Chao ZHENG
1
;
Xuehua SUN
2
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease; Hepatic Fibrosis; Anti-Hepato Fibrosis Agents （TCD）; Therapeutics
- From: Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(10):1968-1974
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: Metabolic associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） has become one of the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide， and its progression to liver fibrosis is a key influencing factor for prognosis and the risk of complications. In recent years， novel drugs， such as selective thyroid hormone receptor-β agonists， glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists， and fibroblast growth factor 21 analogs， have shown preliminary efficacy in the treatment of MAFLD-related liver fibrosis； however， such drugs have limited overall effectiveness， and there is still a lack of ideal therapeutic strategy to address the disease across its different stages. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， with its characteristics of multiple targets and systemic regulation， has shown unique advantages in this field. This article systematically reviews the basic and clinical research on the anti-fibrotic mechanisms of compound TCM prescriptions and their active components in recent years， focusing on the key processes including hepatic stellate cell activation， lipid metabolism disorders， oxidative stress， immune inflammation， and gut-liver axis dysfunction. Meanwhile， it is pointed out that there are still certain issues in current research， including ambiguities in the clarification of mechanisms， a lack of standardized evaluation systems， and the need to improve the quality of clinical evidence. Future research should emphasize the standardization and quality control of TCM herbal preparations and integrate emerging technologies， such as omics analysis， organoid models， and real-world data， to advance TCM intervention of MAFLD-related liver fibrosis toward well-defined mechanisms， clear therapeutic pathways， and robust scientific evidence. TCM is expected to play a vital role in the multi-dimensional targeted intervention and stage-specific management of MAFLD-related liver fibrosis， in order to provide new perspectives and comprehensive solutions for the precise treatment of chronic liver diseases.
