• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.11
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• pp.1642-1647
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated the hepatoprotective effects of garlic extracts fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum on alcohol-induced fatty liver damage in C57BL/6J mice. The weight of liver tissue of the lactic acid-fermented garlic extract (LAFGE) diet groups decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared to that of the normal diet group. The activities of typical serum enzymes such as ALT, AST, and ALP were low in the LAFGE 200 mg/kg administered group. The LAFGE 200 mg/kg administered group significantly decreased values of TBIL and DBIL, which are an important index of liver damage. LAFGE also ameliorated alcohol-induced hepatic lipid accumulation in histological analysis dose-dependently. In addition, total GSH and reduced GSH levels in LAFGE-treated groups were gradually recovered up to normal levels. The present study revealed that LAFGE improved unique tastes and odors of raw garlic through lactic acid fermentation technology and thus could be a commercially potential material for hepatoprotective functional foods against alcoholic fatty liver.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2012

Cherry silverberry (Elaeagnus multiflora) contains bioactive phenolics. This study was conducted to determine whether feeding cherry silverberry wine (CSW) to rats would alleviate the progress of alcoholic fatty liver. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided by weight into the following three groups. Two groups of rats were fed 6.7% ethanol or the caloric equivalent Lieber-DeCarli diet containing maltose-dextrin, and the other group an isocaloric Lieber-DeCarli diet containing CSW at the same ethanol level for 6 weeks. CSW's flavonoids, its antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities, serum transaminases, serum and hepatic lipids, and liver histology were examined. Our results showed that CSW exerted significant antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. The serum activities of alanine and aspartate transminases were markedly decreased by CSW at 6 weeks. Also, CSW feeding resulted in significant reductions in blood cholesterol and triglyceride. The development of alcoholic fatty liver was significantly delayed by lowering fat accumulation. Taken together, these results indicate that CSW may help protect the liver against alcoholic fatty liver by improving serum and hepatic lipid status. This may be associated with the protective effect of CSW on alcoholic fatty liver via bioactive phenolic compounds.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1144-1151
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• 2019

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease associated with various metabolic syndromes, such as obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. Cudrania tricuspidata is a medicinal plant distributed widely in Asia and has been used in clinical practice to treat various diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the lipid-lowering effects of C. tricuspidata fruit extract (CTE) using a cell model induced by free fatty acids (FFAs). HepG2 cells were exposed to 1mM FFAs (palmitic acid:oleic acid = 2:1) for 24 hr to simulate the conditions of NAFLD in vitro. CTE attenuated the increases of lipid accumulation, intracellular triglyceride, and cholesterol content and inhibited 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) activity in the HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Also, CTE inhibited the protein expression of lipogenesis-related genes, such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1/-2 (SREBP-1/-2), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) in FFAs-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. In addition, CTE-induced adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in HepG2 cells. These results suggest that CTE attenuates hepatic lipid accumulation by inhibiting lipogenesis through the modulation of the AMPK signaling pathway on FFAs-induced lipogenesis in HepG2 cells and may potentially prevent NAFLD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1342-1347
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• 2008

The purpose of present study was to investigate the protective effect of silkworm excrement powder (SEP) on alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Semisynthetic diet supplemented with SEP (3%, w/w) given to alcohol-feeding rats for 30 days, then blood and tissues were collected, processed and used for alcohol concentration mensuration, various biochemical estimations and histopathological examination. Chronic alcohol administration resulted in significantly increase in the activities of the clinically important liver marker enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), $\gamma$-glutamyl transpeptidase ($\gamma$-GTP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Also, a highly significant increase in the blood alcohol level by alcohol treatment was observed. But alcohol-induced elevation of ALT and LDH levels markedly prevented and the level of blood alcohol decreased in SEP treated rats as compared to alcohol-administered control rats. SEP supplementation showed highly decreased the concentrations of total lipid, triglyceride and cholesterol in serum, as compared with alcohol treated control rats. Alcohol treatment induced the marked accumulation of large lipid droplets, hepatocytes necrosis and inflammation in the liver, but SEP administration attenuated to alcohol-induced accumulation of lipid droplets and hepatocyte necrosis. The results indicated that SEP may exert a protective effect against alcoholic hepatotoxicity through decreasing the activity of hepatic marker enzymes.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.762-768
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• 2014

In this study, the ameliorating effects of lactic acid-fermented garlic extract (LAFGE) on non-alcoholic fatty liver were investigated using oleic acid-induced steatotic HepG2 cells. The ameliorating mechanism was analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot. Treatment with 1 mg/mL LAFGE decreased intracellular lipid accumulation approximately 1.5-fold, compared to that achieved with non-fermented garlic extract. LAFGE reduced fatty acid influx into hepatocytes through down-regulation of FAT/CD36 mRNA expression in the steatotic HepG2 cells. $PPAR{\alpha}$ and CPT-1 mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated by LAFGE treatment of HepG2 cells as a consequence of activation of beta oxidation. Additionally, the treatment with 1 mg/mL LAFGE highly down-regulated mRNA expression of SREBP-1c and FAS to 51% and 35%, respectively. LAFGE showed concentration-dependent down-regulation patterns in protein expression of SREBP-1c and FAS, as determined by Western blot. These results suggest that LAFGE treatment improves hepatic steatosis triggered by the imbalance of hepatic lipid metabolism owing to oleic acid treatment.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.318-325
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• 2017

Alcoholic steatosis is a fundamental metabolic disorder and may precede the onset of more severe forms of alcoholic liver disease. In this study, we isolated enzymatichydrolysate from Semisulcospira libertine by alcalase hydrolysis and investigated the protective effect of Semisulcospira libertine hydrolysate on liver injury induced by alcohol in the mouse model of chronic and binge ethanol feeding (NIAAA). In an in vitro study, the hydrolysate protects HepG2 cells from ethanol toxicity. Liver damage was assessed by histopathological examination, as well as by quantitating activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). After the administration of S. libertina hydrolysate, fat accumulation and infiltration of inflammatory cells in liver tissues were significantly decreased in the NIAAA mouse model. The elevated levels of serum AST, ALT, and ALP activities, along with the lipid contents of a damaged liver, were recovered in experimental mice administrated with S. libertina hydrolysate, suggesting its role in blood enzyme activation and lipid content restoration within damaged liver tissues. Moreover, treatment with S. libertine hydrolysate reduced the expression rate of cyclooxygenase (COX-2), interleukin $(IL)-1{\beta}$, and IL-6, which accelerate inflammation and induces tissue damage. All data showed that S. libertine hydrolysate has a preventive role against alcohol-induced liver damages by improving the activities of blood enzymes and modulating the expression of inflammation factor, suggesting S. libertine hydrolysate could be a commercially potential material for the restoration of hepatotoxicity.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.25
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• pp.103-118
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• 2006

근래에 한국의 생명보험 시장에는 주요 질병의 보장을 위한 상품들이 연일 쏟아져 나오고 있다. 그러나 이와 함께 증가될 수 있는 리스크에 대한 대비는 상대적으로 부족한 실정이다. 특히 간질환에 의한 급부발생이 타질환에 비하여 현격하게 높은 국내 실정에 맞게 언더라이팅 초점이 맞추어져야 할 필요가 있다. 간질환 유발인자로 대표적인 것은 B형 간염이지만, 과다한 알코올 섭취에 의한 간질환 역시 매해 빠른 속도로 증가하는 추세이다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 알코올에 의한 질환의 종류와 이와 관련된 보험금 청구 통계, 그리고 음주로 인한 교통사고의 폐해에 대해 살펴보고, 알코올 남용자를 사전에 판별할 방법을 찾아보고자 한다. 일반적으로 알려져 있는 알코올 관련 질환으로는 지방간, 알코올성 간염, 알코올성 간경변이 있으며, 이로 인한 급부발생율은 급격히 증가하고 있다. 음주로 인한 폐해는 단순히 간질환에 그치지 않고 있으며, 교통사고의 상당수가 음주와 관련이 되어있다. 이러한 리스크에 대해 국내의 상당수 보험사들은 혈액검사를 통하여 간기능에 대한 기준을 설정하여 언더라이팅을 하고 있다. 현재 주로 시행되고 있는 간기능 검사들에 대한 정확도에 대해서는 논란이 있을 수 있다. 따라서 보다 정밀한 검사법들에 대한 연구가 필요할 것이다. 외국의 경우, 보험을 가입하고자 하는 보험 대상자들은 직업이나 흡연, 위험 취미뿐만 아니라 알코올과 관련된 일정한 양식의 질문표에 대하여 성실하게 고지하도록 하고 있다. 국내에도 알코올과 관련된 자세한 고지항목을 첨부하여, 일정 기준에 미치지 못하는 가입자에 대하여 표준미달체로 분류하여 보다 정밀한 검진을 통해 세밀한 언더라이팅이 이루어져야 하겠다. 이와 아울러, 알코올로 인한 사회적 폐해의 심각성에 대한 인식 확대를 위한 각 보험사 및 유관기관의 노력이 전개된다면, 음주에 대한 진사 절차가 수월해질 것으로 기대된다.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.2093-2098
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• 2010

Insulin resistance plays a central role in fatty liver, a part of the metabolic syndrome. This study examined the relationship between fatty liver, metabolic abnormalities and mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA] copy number in peripheral blood that is correlated with diabetes or metabolic markers. Fatty liver was assessed by questionnaire on alcohol consumption and abdominal ultrasonography. MtDNA copy number in peripheral leukocytes was measured by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction [PCR]. Among 445 subjects, 148 subjects had hepatic steatosis and 297 were controls. mtDNA copy number was significantly lower in fatty liver group in comparison with that of normal finding group. This result is similar in both groups, alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver group. MtDNA copy number was inversely correlated with alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], gamma-glutamyltransferase [$\gamma$-GTP], body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and free fatty acid. MtDNA copy number in peripheral leukocytes was associated with fatty liver and insulin resistance related factors.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.204-209
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• 2008

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is typically associated with obesity and insulin resistance. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more serious form of NAFLD. Although fibrosis is common in pediatric NASH, cirrhosis has been rarely reported. Patients with hypothalamic or pituitary dysfunction are at risk for obesity and insulin resistance with subsequent development of NAFLD. We report a case of NAFLD progressing to cirrhosis in an obese 16 year-old boy with hypopituitarism.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.434-442
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• 2020

In this study, Tenebrio molitor (brown mealworm) larvae powder was fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae M1 (KACC 93023). The fermented and non-fermented powders were subsequently administered to rats with induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to compare the degree of improvement. The rats exhibited abnormal lipid metabolism due to orotic acid, and the group that were fed the fermented larvae powder showed similar weight to normal rats. AST, ALT, ALP, and LDH activities, all known indicators of liver health, and various other lipid-related indicators appeared positive, suggesting improvement. The lipid peroxide and glutathione content in the liver tissue and serum were similar to or better than those of the normal group. Finally, morphological observations of liver tissue using H&E and oil red O stainings revealed that the fermented powder group showed markedly reduced fat along with normal hepatocyte shape and arrangement. To summarize, it was confirmed that dietary brown mealworm larvae improve non-alcoholic fatty liver function, and, when fermented with yeast, most indicators showed positive improvements to almost normal levels. As such, the fermented powder can be considered to improve non-alcoholic fatty liver, suggesting that it may be used as a material for various products in the future.