Screening of Salsola imbricata extract impacts against acrylamide induced hepatic toxicity in rats through the regulation of different global gene expression

Abstract Acrylamide (A) is known for its biological toxicity and S. imbricata is recognized for its various biological activities. The leaf extract of S. imbricata was utilized as a protective approach from acrylamide-induced oxidative stress at the transcriptome level by analyzing global gene expression, biological processes and pathways. Three groups of rats were used to investigate the protective effect of S. imbricata leaf extract on the liver transcriptome: Group C (Control), group A (received acrylamide), and group A_S (received acrylamide and S. imbricata extract). Transcriptome analysis was conducted using RNAseq with the Illumina NovaSeq 6,000. The results identified 53 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in A/C and 91 genes in A_S/C comparisons. Various GO terms were significantly enriched, with 19 terms in the A/C comparison and 6 terms in the A_S/C comparison. In addition, several pathways were enriched, including ATP biosynthesis, mitochondrial inner membrane, and iron binding. The extract of S. imbricata exhibited various effects, including A-like, A-antagonistic, or A-agonistic on gene expression. This explains the observed contradiction of S. imbricata extract on the global gene expression of rat liver. The identified DEGs in the current study are associated with various pathways, including electron transport chain, mitochondrial apoptosis, ribosome function, iron binding, and homeostasis. The findings indicate an A-like transcriptomic toxicity of S. imbricata, although its previously reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This raises concerns about the safety of medicinal plants and their widespread use in food supplements and alternative medicine, emphasizing the need for their assessment at various biological levels.