Abstract
Background: Roles of immune reaction and toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) have widely been established in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Methods: We evaluated the biologic efficacy of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG), urushiol, and probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and Lactobacillus acidophilus R0052) in mouse models of ALD. Sixty C57BL/6 mice were equally divided into six feeding groups for 10 weeks: normal diet, alcohol, control, alcohol + KRG, alcohol + urushiol, and alcohol + probiotics. Alcohol was administered via a LiebereDeCarli liquid diet containing 10% alcohol. TLR-4 expression, proinflammatory cytokines, and histology, as well as the results of liver function tests were evaluated and compared. Results: No between-group differences were observed with regard to liver function. TLR-4 levels were significantly lower in the KRG, urushiol, and probiotics groups than in the alcohol group (0.37 ± 0.06 ng/mL, 0.39 ± 0.12 ng/mL, and 0.33 ± 0.07 ng/mL, respectively, vs. 0.88 ± 0.31 ng/mL; p < 0.05). Interleukin- 1β levels in liver tissues were decreased among the probiotics and KRG groups. The tumor necrosis factor-α level of liver tissue was decreased in the KRG group. Conclusion: The pathological findings showed that alcohol-induced steatosis was significantly reduced by KRG and urushiol. As these agents improve immunologic capacity, they may be considered in potential anti-ALD treatments.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 167-172 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Ginseng Research |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by a grant from the Korea Society of Ginseng (2011); the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology ( NRF-2010-0021482 ); Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ009859), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea ; and Hallym University Research Fund .
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Biotechnology
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
- Complementary and alternative medicine