{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T15:10:10Z","timestamp":1779117010001,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013318","name":"Shanxi Provincial Science and Technology Department","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["202303021212238"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202303021212238"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013318","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Traditional Chinese Medicine","award":["2023ZYYB2035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023ZYYB2035"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Emodin exhibits promising hepatomodulatory potential, yet its precise actions remain poorly characterized across distinct hepatic pathological states. Dose-dependent effects of emodin (40, 80, and 120 mg\/kg) were investigated in mice with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), as well as healthy control mice, through integrated histopathological, biochemical, metabolomic, and gut microbiota profiling. The 80 mg\/kg dose tended to yield the most favorable hepatoprotective outcomes in MASLD mice, whereas the 120 mg\/kg dose was accompanied by apparent adverse hepatic alterations in normal mice. Correlative analyses further suggested that such divergent hepatic responses may be potentially linked to the gut microbiota\u2013short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) axis, as well as the modulation of BAX\/Bcl-2 balance and ESR1 expression. The hepatic effects of emodin are state- and dose-dependent. The dose of 80 mg\/kg may represent a plausible candidate therapeutic range for MASLD, and the gut\u2013liver axis is proposed as a likely underlying regulatory pathway.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27104411","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T14:40:31Z","timestamp":1779115231000},"page":"4411","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Emodin Exerts Dual Hepatoprotective\/Hepatotoxic Effects Dependent on Metabolic Microenvironment via Gut\u2013Liver Axis Crosstalk: A Multi-Omics Study in MAFLD and Normal Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Rui","family":"Mao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuxia","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Haiyan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ruiqi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yangang","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huifeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yingli","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tradition Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong 030619, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"851","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-1253(22)00165-0","article-title":"The prevalence and incidence of NAFLD worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"7","author":"Riazi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet Gastroenterol. 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