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The hepatoprotective activity of Turkey tail extract mainly relies on Coriolus versicolor polysaccharides (especially β-(1→3)-D-glucan and its branched structures), which are achieved through four main pathways: "direct protection of hepatocytes," "regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress," "inhibition of liver fibrosis," and "enhancing liver detoxification."

1. Directly Protecting Hepatocytes: Reducing Necrosis and Promoting Repair

Inhibiting Hepatocyte Apoptosis: During liver injury, hepatocytes die due to activation of apoptosis signaling pathways (such as Fas/FasL and Caspase pathways). Turkey tail polysaccharides can upregulate anti-apoptotic proteins (such as Bcl-2) and downregulate pro-apoptotic proteins (such as Bax and Caspase-3), blocking apoptosis signal transduction and reducing hepatocyte necrosis (e.g., in a mouse model of alcoholic liver injury, Turkey tail polysaccharides can reduce the hepatocyte apoptosis rate by 30%-50%).

Promoting Hepatocyte Regeneration: Turkey tail polysaccharides can activate proliferation signaling pathways within hepatocytes (such as PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways), stimulating the division and proliferation of surviving healthy hepatocytes and accelerating the repair of damaged livers (in vitro experiments show that Turkey tail polysaccharides can increase the proliferation activity of cultured hepatocytes by 20%-40%).

2. Regulating inflammation and oxidative stress: reducing liver "internal friction"

Turkey tail polysaccharides alleviate these two types of damage through "bidirectional regulation": Inhibiting liver inflammation: When the liver is damaged, immune cells (such as macrophages and neutrophils) release pro-inflammatory factors (such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), exacerbating hepatocellular damage. Turkey tail polysaccharides can reduce the synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory factors by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway (the core switch of the inflammatory response); at the same time, they promote the secretion of anti-inflammatory factors (such as IL-10), balancing the inflammatory response (in a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis model, Turkey tail polysaccharides can reduce liver TNF-α levels by more than 50%).

3. Inhibiting liver fibrosis: Preventing liver cirrhosis

Inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs): HSCs are the "main cells" that produce collagen fibers. Under normal conditions, they are in a dormant state, but they are activated when the liver is damaged. Turkey tail polysaccharides can prevent HSCs from transitioning from a "dormant state" to an "activated state" by downregulating the "TGF-β1 signaling pathway" (the core signal for activating HSCs), thereby reducing the "producers" of collagen fibers.