ABSTRACT Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is an inflammatory liver disorder caused by factors such as chronic excessive alcohol consumption, toxicity of ethanol metabolites, oxidative stress damage, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Cordyceps militaris polysaccharide (CMP) exhibits antioxidant effects and can modulate gut microbiota, but its role in ALD remains incompletely understood. This study demonstrates that oral administration of CMP to mice alleviate weight loss induced by alcohol consumption, reduce hepatic lipid accumulation, enhance the activity of key antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) in both serum and liver tissues, and significantly increase glutathione (GSH) levels. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that CMP improved the microbiological community composition, increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota at the phylum level. At the genus level, CMP increased the abundance of Muribaculaceae and decreased that of Dubosiella and Alloprevotella . Interestingly, the abundances of Lactobacillus , Akkermansia , and Muribaculaceae , all of which are associated with ALD and possess antioxidant properties, were significantly enriched in CMP‐treated mice. These results indicate that CMP has potential as a functional supplement for protecting against alcohol‐induced liver injury, offering new strategies for its prevention.
Lu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.