OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of the extraction sites of Meconopsis integrifolia (Maxim.) French on rats with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and their gut microbes(GM) composition.

METHODS Ethyl acetate site and n-butanol site were obtained from Meconopsis integrifolia (Maxim.) French by extraction. HepG2 cells were stimulated by palmitic acid to create a cell lipid deposition model, and intracellular lipid content, antioxidant capacity, and inflammatory factor expression levels were measured. The rat model of NAFLD was established with high fat food, and the body weight, transaminase activity, blood lipid content, antioxidant capacity and inflammatory factor expression level were determined. The GM and short chain fatty acid(SCFA) of the rats were characterized by 16s high-throughput sequencing and GC-MS.

RESULTS The ethyl acetate sites and n-butanol sites of Meconopsis integrifolia (Maxim.) French could reduce the contents of triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, malondialdehyde, increase the levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione, and decrease the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β. At the same time, the body weight of the rats, the lipid deposition in the liver tissue and the levels of aspartate aminotransferaseand alanine aminotransferase were reduced, and the content of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was increased. The abundance of Romboutsia and RF39_unclassified was reduced, the abundance of Allobaculum, Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group was increased after the intervention of Meconopsis integrifolia (Maxim.) French, and the content of SCFAs was also increased.

CONCLUSION Meconopsis integrifolia (Maxim.) French may reduce the expression level of inflammatory factors, and improve antioxidant capacity to achieve a protective effect on NAFLD rats by regulating the relative abundance of GM in NAFLD rats.