Nutr Res Pract.  2020 Aug;14(4):299-308. 10.4162/nrp.2020.14.4.299.

Effect of probiotics Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6, L. plantarum GKM3, and L. rhamnosus GKLC1 on alleviating alcohol-induced alcoholic liver disease in a mouse model

• Tsai YS
• Lin SW
• Chen YL
• Chen CC

• KMID: 2504747
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2020.14.4.299

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Heavy alcohol consumption causes the development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), a neglected but important public health problem. Many studies have pointed out that probiotics could improve gut health, which is also considered to be a cause of ALD. Therefore, this study screened the probiotics, Lactobacillus casei GKC1 (GKC1), L. fermentum GKF3 (GKF3), Bifidobacterium lactis GKK2 (GKK2), L. rhamnosus GKLC1 (GKLC1), L. paracasei GKS6 (GKS6), and L. plantarum GKM3 (GKM3), for their potential benefits in alleviating ALD for applications to disease prevention.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
C57BL/6N mice were divided into 8 groups (n = 6 in each): normal control, positive control (alcohol-diet fed), and treatments of feeding probiotics GKC1, GKF3, GKK2, GKLC1, GKS6, and GKM3 under an oral dose 0.82 g/kg B.W. per day by oral gavage. The experiment was conducted for 8 weeks, and the concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) in mice were measured. The glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and histology were analyzed after sacrifice.
RESULTS
The results showed a decrease in the serum ALT, liver TG, and liver TC levels in the GKS6, GKM3, and GKLC1 groups compared to the positive control. In addition, the decreasing GSH and CAT levels were inhibited in the GKS6 and GKM3 groups. The histopathological results showed that all probiotics could reduce the accumulation of liver fat. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in GKLC1 with lower stomach damage compared to the alcohol-fed mice without any addition of probiotics.
CONCLUSIONS
GKLC1, GKS6, and GKM3 can be used as supplements for alleviating the development of ALD.

Keyword

Alanine transaminase; catalase, gastrointestinal tract; glutathione; fatty liver

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Results of AST (A) and ALT (B) analysis at week 8. The results are expressed as mean ± SD. An unpaired t-test was applied (n = 6).AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; GKLC1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GKLC1; GKM3, Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3; GKS6, Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6.*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with positive control.

• 

  Fig. 2 Effect of probiotics GKLC1, GKM3, and GKS6 on the change in the serum TG (A) and TC (B) levels in ethanol-fed C57BL/6 mice at the 8th week. Each value is represented as the mean ± SD (n = 6).TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; GKLC1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GKLC1; GKS6, Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6; GKM3, Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3.*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 when compared to the positive control (Duncan's multiple range test).

• 

  Fig. 3 Effects of probiotics GKLC1, GKM3, and GKS6 on liver TG and TC in ethanol-fed C57BL/6 mice. Each value is represented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). Duncan's multiple range test was applied.TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; GKS6, Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6; GKM3, Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3; GKLC1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GKLC1.*P < 0.05, †P < 0.01, ‡P < 0.05, §P < 0.01 compared to the positive control.

• 

  Fig. 4 Effect of probiotics GKLC1, GKM3, and GKS6 on the GSH (A) and CAT (B) activities in the liver of ethanol-fed C57BL/6 mice. Each value is represented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). Duncan's multiple range test was applied.GSH, glutathione; CAT, catalase; GKLC1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GKLC1; GKM3, Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3; GKS6, Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6.*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 when compared to the positive control.

• 

  Fig. 5 (A) Histopathological score in the liver fat, leaky gut, and stomach of the ethanol-fed C57BL/6 mice with supplements of probiotics GKLC1, GKM3, and GKS6, respectively. The results are expressed as the mean ± SD. Different letters indicate a significant difference according to an analysis of variance (P < 0.05). (B) Histopathological analysis of mice in the liver, gut, and stomach of the mice tissue. The gray arrow indicates the accumulation of liver fat. The black arrow shows the location of the stomach or gut necrosis. GKLC1, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GKLC1; GKM3, Lactobacillus plantarum GKM3; GKS6, Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6.

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