ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Food Chemistry
Ferulic acid inhibits lipogenesis and ameliorates MASLD via targeting PGC-1β
Provisionally accepted
Kaili Cui1*
Zhuoyu Li2- 1Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital, Taiyuan, China
- 2Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is rapidly becoming the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, which can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, there is few approved effective pharmacotherapies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs. Ferulic acid (FA) is a dietary and herbal phenolic compound that regulates lipid metabolism. In this study, we indicated the intervention of FA on MASLD and its molecular mechanism. It was found that FA effectively improved MASLD in vivo and in vitro. Interestingly, PPAR gamma-coactivator-1beta (Ppargc1β, also known as PGC-1β) was the target of FA intervention in MASLD. FA directly bound to PGC-1β and inhibited its expression through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Furthermore, Overexpression of PGC-1β abolished the ameliorative effect of FA on MASLD. In addition, FA inhibited lipogenesis through the PGC-1β/SREBP1 axis, thereby improving MASLD. This work uncovered a novel plant-derived therapeutic strategy targeting a previously unrecognized PGC-1β/SREBP1 mechanism in MASLD.
Keywords: ferulic acid, MASLD, PGC-1β, SREBP1, Lipogenesis
Received: 23 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cui and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kaili Cui
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