Fouad Y, Said EM, Kamani L, El-Khayat HR. Reviving peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in fatty liver disease: From herbal formula to nuclear receptor targeting. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(35): 119168 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.119168]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yasser Fouad, MD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology and Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Minia University, Al-Horria Street, Minia 19111, Egypt. yasserfouad10@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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review-article
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Fouad Y, Said EM, Kamani L, El-Khayat HR. Reviving peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in fatty liver disease: From herbal formula to nuclear receptor targeting. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(35): 119168 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.119168]
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2026; 32(35): 119168 Published online Sep 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119168
Reviving peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in fatty liver disease: From herbal formula to nuclear receptor targeting
Yasser Fouad, Ebada M Said, Lubna Kamani, Hisham R El-Khayat
Yasser Fouad, Department of Gastroenterology and Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Minia University, Minia 19111, Egypt
Ebada M Said, Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Benha 13518, Egypt
Lubna Kamani, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi 14322, Sindh, Pakistan
Hisham R El-Khayat, Department of Gastroenterology and Endemic Medicine, Theodore Research Institute, Cairo 23323, Egypt
Author contributions: Fouad Y and El-Khayat HR conceptualized the idea; Fouad Y, Said EM, Kamani L and El-Khayat HR participated in writing and approving the final draft.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Corresponding author: Yasser Fouad, MD, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology and Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Minia University, Al-Horria Street, Minia 19111, Egypt. yasserfouad10@yahoo.com
Received: January 21, 2026 Revised: February 4, 2026 Accepted: March 5, 2026 Published online: September 21, 2026 Processing time: 210 Days and 18.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The efficacy of single-target therapies is limited by interconnected metabolic, inflammatory, and gut-derived mechanisms driving metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. According to the study covered in this editorial, the hepatoprotective effects of Lianhe Xiaozhi ointment are mediated through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), a key metabolic-immune hub. This work offers a systems-based therapeutic framework by improving hepatic fatty acid oxidation, reducing inflammatory signaling, and altering the gut microbiota to raise endogenous PPARα ligands. These results reinforce the gut microbiota-fatty acid-PPARα axis as a promising target for future metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease interventions and support physiological, multilevel activation of PPARα.
