{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T01:15:47Z","timestamp":1775610947117,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772755200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Research and Development Program of the Autonomous Region","award":["2024B02024-1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024B02024-1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study intended to elucidate the preventive effects of Licochalcone A (Lico A, a flavonoid from Glycyrrhiza inflata) on acute alcoholic liver injury (AALI) in mice and its mechanisms. Lico A (50, 100 mg\/kg) markedly decreased the serum ALT, AST, and ALP levels (p &lt; 0.05) and elevated the ALB and TP levels in AALI mice (p &lt; 0.05). Lico A (100 mg\/kg) markedly reduced the hepatic levels of MDA, NO, TNF-\u03b1, IL-1\u03b2, and IL-6 in AALI mice (p &lt; 0.05), while elevating SOD, GSH, ADH, and ALDH activities (p &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, Lico A (100 mg\/kg) downregulated TLR4, MyD88, IKK\u03b2, p-I\u03baB\u03b1\/I\u03baB\u03b1, and p-NF-\u03baB p65\/NF-\u03baB p65 levels in the liver tissue of AALI mice (p &lt; 0.05) and diminished the serum LPS and DAO contents (p &lt; 0.05). Lico A (50, 100 mg\/kg) upregulated the expression of the intestinal tissue ZO-1 and Occludin in AALI mice. Pathological observation also showed that Lico A significantly improved the liver tissue and intestinal mucosa tissue damage caused by alcohol. Additionally, Lico A altered gut microbiota composition, accompanied by increased concentrations of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which restored microbial diversity and elevated the relative abundance of Actinomycetota, Bacteroidota, Bacillota_A_368345, Limosilactobacillus, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium_388775. These results indicated that Lico A had better hepatoprotective effects on AALI, and its mechanisms may involve modulation of the gut\u2013liver axis and the TLR4\/NF-\u03baB signaling pathway.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15050915","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T13:00:02Z","timestamp":1772802002000},"page":"915","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Protective Effects of Licochalcone A Against Alcoholic Liver Injury in Mice by Modulating the Gut\u2013Liver Axis and TLR4\/NF-\u03baB Pathway"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Yue","family":"Yuan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Smart Agriculture, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9984-0541","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chenyang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Uighur Medicine, Institute of Materia Medica of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830004, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aididar","family":"Toliken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Uighur Medicine, Institute of Materia Medica of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830004, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Uighur Medicine, Institute of Materia Medica of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830004, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuhan","family":"Yao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Uighur Medicine, Institute of Materia Medica of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830004, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9890-4582","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Smart Agriculture, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Uighur Medicine, Institute of Materia Medica of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830004, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119328","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lfs.2021.119328","article-title":"A review on molecular mechanism of alcoholic liver disease","volume":"274","author":"Namachivayam","year":"2021","journal-title":"Life Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"291","article-title":"Alcoholic liver disease research progress: Current status, challenges and prospects","volume":"30","author":"Sun","year":"2025","journal-title":"Liver"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"594","DOI":"10.1080\/13880209.2018.1517185","article-title":"Molecular mechanism and research progress on pharmacology of traditional chinese medicine in liver injury","volume":"56","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Pharm. 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