@article{Kong2024, 
author = {Li Kong and Xinyu Gao and Lijuan Zhu and Xing Lin and You Huang and Chunlin Huang and Wenjiang Yang and Yazhi Chen and Haoqiang Zhao and Jing Wu and Zhihang Yuan and Jin’e Yi},
title = {Betulinic acid protects against ovarian impairment by decreasing F-2 toxin-induced oxidative stress and inflammation associated with the downregulation of p38 expression in mice},
year = {2024},
journal = {Food Science and Human Wellness},
volume = {13},
number = {3},
pages = {1292-1302},
keywords = {Betulinic acid, F-2 toxin, Ovarian damage, p38 MAPK signaling pathway},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/FSHW.2022.9250108},
doi = {10.26599/FSHW.2022.9250108},
abstract = {F-2 toxin is an estrogenic mycotoxin that causes reproductive disorders in animals. Betulinic acid (BA) is a natural pentacyclic lupane-structure triterpenoid that has diverse pharmacological activities. In this study, the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of BA and its underlying mechanism are explored in F-2 toxin-triggered mouse ovarian damage. We found that BA alleviated the F-2 toxin-induced ovarian impairment by stimulating follicle growth, reducing inflammatory cell infiltration, repairing damaged mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. Simultaneously, BA not only reversed F-2 toxin-induced reduction of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in the serum, but also restrained the protein expression of the estrogen receptors α (ERα) and ERβ. Moreover, BA restored the balance of F-2 toxin-induced ovarian redox system disorders. Subsequently, we found that 0.25 mg/kg BA played an anti-inflammatory role in the F-2 toxin-induced ovarian impairment by decreasing interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) mRNA expression, as well as inhibiting p38 protein expression.These data demonstrated that BA exerts its protective effect on F-2 toxin-induced ovarian oxidative impairment and inflammation by inhibiting p38 expression, which implies a natural product-based medicine to ameliorate F-2 toxin-caused female reproductive toxicity and provides a detoxifying method for food contaminated by mycotoxin.}
}