A fructan-type polysaccharide from Lycium ruthenicum attenuates liver fibrosis via microbiota-dependent ferroptosis inhibition.
Zhao Y, Qiao M, Ma C, Hou Q, Hu J
Medicinal Plants
The black goji berries you might grow along a sunny fence or find dried at a specialty market carry a prebiotic sugar that essentially programs your gut bacteria to protect your liver — a striking example of a garden plant working through an entirely unexpected biological relay.
Researchers found that a specific sugar from black wolfberry (also called black goji berry) can dramatically reduce liver damage and scarring in animals. The sugar works by feeding helpful gut bacteria, which then send protective compounds up to the liver. When the gut bacteria were wiped out with antibiotics, the berry's protection disappeared completely — proving the gut bugs are the essential middlemen doing the work.
Key Findings
LRMP1, a small fructan sugar (3,055 daltons) from black wolfberry, significantly reduced liver fibrosis and injury markers in two independent animal models of chronic liver disease
The compound enriched beneficial gut bacteria — especially Akkermansia muciniphila and Lactobacillus species — and its protective effects were completely abolished when gut bacteria were eliminated with antibiotics, confirming microbiota dependency
LRMP1 blocked ferroptosis (an iron-driven form of cell death) in liver cells by restoring two key antioxidant proteins (GPX4 and SLC7A11) and reducing harmful lipid oxidation
chevron_right Technical Summary
A sugar molecule extracted from black wolfberry significantly reduced liver scarring in animal models — not by acting on the liver directly, but by reshaping the gut microbiome. The beneficial gut bacteria it cultivates then produce protective compounds that shield liver cells from a damaging form of cell death called ferroptosis.
Abstract Preview
Plant-derived polysaccharides represent promising candidates for hepatic fibrosis (HF) therapy through the gut-liver axis. This study investigated the structural characteristics, anti-fibrotic effi...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient DNA Reveals Pre-Columbian Amazonian Forest Management at Scale
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
The plant microbiome consists of the microbial communities—bacteria, fungi, and archaea—that live within plant tissues and in the rhizosphere soil environment, functionally analogous to animal gut microbiota. These microbial communities are crucial to plant science because they directly enhance
arrow_forward Explore topic