Co-administration of berberine and evodiamine: Mitigating evodiamine-induced hepatotoxicity and potentiating colitis treatment

BACKGROUND: The combined therapeutic mechanisms of evodiamine (EVO) and berberine (BBR), which are the primary bioactive components contributing to the pharmacological effects of Euodiae Fructus and Rhizoma Coptidis, a classic herb pair used for colitis, have not yet been fully elucidated PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the critical mechanisms by which co-administration EVO and BBR mitigated EVO-induced hepatotoxicity while exerting therapeutic effects against colitis. METHODS: Safety and therapeutic outcomes of EVO alone and combined BBR were validated in normal and colitis models. RNA-seq sequencing was performed on liver and colon tissues from different groups, while metagenomic sequencing was utilized to analysis fecal samples. An integrated bioinformatics analysis of transcriptomic and metagenomic data was conducted to reveal the mechanisms underlying EVO-induced hepatotoxicity and the protective and synergistic effects of BBR against colitis. Molecular biology experiments were employed to validate the regulatory mechanism, with a particular emphasis on the interactions within the gut- liver axis, including those related to lipid metabolism and inflammatory pathways. RESULTS: BBR attenuated EVO-induced hepatotoxicity in C57 mice by ameliorating pathological injuries and hepatic steatosis as well as inhibiting abnormal AST/ALT elevation, thereby revealing its hepatoprotective effects. In colitis mice, the combination therapy exhibited enhanced efficacy in reducing mucosal damage, restoring goblet cells populations, and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines production compared to monotherapy. Integrated analysis of RNA-seq combined with experimental validation revealed that EVO-induced hepatotoxicity was associated with the disrupted fatty acid β-oxidation and cholesterol synthesis homeostasis. Notably, co-administration of BBR effectively rescued metabolic disturbance through modulating core regulatory targets such as ACSL1, CPT1B, SQLE, DHCR7. Additionally, the combination treatment synergistically inhibited IL-17/NF-κB signaling, upregulated tight junction proteins, and rectified gut microbiota dysbiosis, thereby alleviating intestinal injury in colitis mice. Furthermore, ACSL3, a central regulator of fatty acid β-oxidation, was identified as a pivotal target through which the combination of EVO combined BBR suppressed lipid peroxidation-mediated activation of IL-17/NF-κB, leading to alleviate inflammation in LPS-induced NCM460 cell. CONCLUSION: ACSL3 was identified as the critical therapeutic target through underlying the amelioration of fatty acid metabolism-mediated inflammatory injury in colitis by the combined administration of EVO and BBR, thereby offering a scientific foundation for precise and safe clinical drug administration.