Mechanism of action of flavonoids in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis and related signaling pathways
- VernacularTitle:黄酮类化合物抗肝纤维化的作用机制及其相关信号通路
- Author:
Wenxuan GUO
1
;
Hongmei LIU
1
;
Zhezhu JIN
1
;
Chenghao LI
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Hepatic Fibrosis; Flavonoids; Signal Transduction
- From: Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(7):1688-1697
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: The incidence rate of hepatic fibrosis remains at a high level， and there is still a lack of specific therapeutic drugs， posing a serious threat to human health. As a type of natural active components widely present in plants， flavonoids have multiple physiological functions such as antioxidant， anti-inflammatory， and anti-fibrotic activities， and a large number of studies have confirmed the anti-hepatic fibrosis effect of flavonoids. As for the mechanism of action， flavonoids can target the functions of hepatic stellate cells by inhibiting their proliferation and differentiation， promoting their apoptosis， regulating the level of autophagy， reducing the formation of extracellular matrix， and regulating iron metabolism in hepatic stellate cells， and meanwhile， they can inhibit chronic liver inflammatory response， improve oxidative stress status， regulate intestinal flora balance， and block epithelial-mesenchymal transition， thereby blocking the progression of fibrosis through multiple dimensions. At the level of signaling pathways， flavonoids mainly exert an anti-fibrotic effect by regulating the abnormal activation of the signaling pathways such as transforming growth factor-β1/Smad， Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription， nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2， nuclear factor-kappa B， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B， mitogen-activated protein kinase， Wnt/β-catenin， and adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase. This article summarizes the research advances in the anti-fibrotic effect of flavonoids， in order to provide a theoretical basis for further exploring their medicinal potential.
