Abstract :
BacKground: Illness and death from liver disease throughout the world is caused long term alcohol consumption. There are still no therapeutic modalities to stop or reverse the pathogenesis and progression of alcoholic liver disease. Genistein, a soy isoflavone, might provide an alternative approach to prevent or treat this disease.
Objective: To assess the effects of genistein on altering oxidative stress level in rats with alcohol-induced liver injury.
Method: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three experimental groups of six rats per group. Control group was fed distilled water (8 mL/Kg BW/day), alcohol group was fed 50% alcohol (8 g/Kg BW/day) and genistein group was fed genistein (16 mg/Kg BW/day) dissolved in 50% alcohol (8 g/Kg BW/day). All groups were treated via a gavage tube twice a day for 4 weeks. At the end of the study, all rats were sacrificed. Serum liver enzymes including serum aspartate transaminase (AST) and serum alanine transaminase (ALT), hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH), liver histopathology were measured.
Results: Levels of hepatic MDA and serum AST in genistein group were significantly lower than in alcohol group (0.09±0.02 vs. 0.13±0.02 and 283.33±137.92 vs. 665.17±211.35, respectively; p<0.01). ALT level in serum was also significantly lower in genistein group than in alcohol group (32.43±12.90 vs. 120.30±75.30; p<0.05). Level of hepatic GSH was significantly increased in genistein group when compared with alcohol group (14.77±2.80 vs. 11.55±1.15; p<0.05). The liver histopathology in alcohol group presented mild steatosis, mild lobular inflammation
and mild to moderate ballooning degeneration. On the other hand, genistein group revealed the improvement of liver histopathology when compared to alcohol group.
Conclusion: The present study suggested that genistein could improve liver histopathology and liver enzymes by decreasing oxidative stress and increasing glutathione level in rats with alcohol-induced liver injury. In addition, these protective effects of genistein are possible to clinical application in patients with alcoholic liver disease.
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file/Thai-Journal-of-gastroenterology-vol-15-no-2-35470.pdf