Dendrobii Officinalis, a traditional Chinese edible and officinal plant, accelerates liver recovery by regulating the gut-liver axis in NAFLD mice

[Display omitted] •After being withdrawn from HSHF diet for 3 weeks, NAFLD mice still had severe liver damage.•DOFP prevented lipid deposition and inflammatory lesions in the livers of model mice.•DOFP probably modulated the gut-liver axis to accelerate liver recovery in NAFLD mice. Dendrobii Officinalis (DOF) is a Traditional Chinese edible and bioavailable plant. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of DOF ultrafine powder (DOFP) and its underlying molecular mechanisms in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice after they were withdrawn from a high sugar and high fat (HSHF) diet, which is correlated with clinical treatment of NAFLD. Our results showed that there was no significant increase in the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), but liver lesions were severe in model mice after withdrawing from the HSHF diet for 3 weeks. DOFP regulated the gut microflora and prevented lipid deposition and inflammatory lesions in the livers of model mice. Our findings revealed that it is likely that DOFP modulated abnormalities of the gut-liver axis, by inhibiting LPS-TLR4-associated inflammatory mediator activation, and subsequently accelerated liver recovery in NAFLD mice.