Hao Wu,1,* Mi-mi Pang,2,* Yao-lei Li,3 Jia-hui Hong,1 Pan-miao Liu,1 Meng Bian,4 Jian-jun Yang1 

1Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, People’s Republic of China; 2Henan Key Laboratory of Chronic Disease Prevention and Therapy & Intelligent Health Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, People’s Republic of China; 3National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 102629, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Jian-jun Yang; Meng Bian, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, East Jian-She Road, Er-Qi District, Zhengzhou, 450000, People’s Republic of China, Email yjyangjj@126.com; bianmeng0208@163.com

Background: Gouty arthritis (GA) is a common joint inflammation closely related to hyperuricemia and urate crystal deposition, and its incidence is on the rise worldwide. Allicin, the primary biologically active component found in freshly crushed garlic extracts, has been reported to possess many beneficial biological functions.
Methods: An animal model was used to evaluate the efficacy of allicin on GA rats, and 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics were used to explore changes in the gut microbiota and metabolites. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) used to explore the mechanism of allicin treating GA.
Results: The results showed that allicin effectively improved the general state of GA rats, inhibited XOD activity, and significantly reduced ROS production and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, thereby exerting therapeutic efficacy to protect the kidneys and joints. Examination of the gut microbiota showed that the composition of the gut microbiota of GA rats improved after allicin treatment (increase in Lactobacillus). Metabolomic analysis revealed a significant increase in gut microbial short-chain fatty acid metabolites (butyric acid) following allicin treatment. Furthermore, FMT confirmed that allicin significantly alleviated GA and increased butyric acid content in a gut microbe-dependent manner. Finally, the role of butyric acid in inhibiting ROS generation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in FLS was elucidated.
Conclusion: This study highlights allicin as a promising therapeutic candidate for GA, emphasizing its potential to inhibit oxidative stress and inflammatory responses by regulating the gut-joint axis.

Keywords: gouty arthritis, allicin, oxidative stress, nlrp3 inflammasome, gut microbiome, metabolites