• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.198-206
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• 2023

The effectiveness of the extracts of Alnus japonica and Portulaca oleracea, which are effective in improving alcohol-induced liver damage, was confirmed using acute and chronic alcoholic liver injury animal models. In the acute alcoholic liver injury model, dieting Alnus japonica and Portulaca oleracea complex (ALPOC) at a dose of 50 mg/kg showed no significant change in liver or body weight, while measured plasma ALT activity to be deficient (28.12 U/ml) compared to the alcohol intake group (42.5 U/ml), and confirmed that restored it to an average level. It showed an improvement of 34.9% compared to the alcohol intake group. AST activity confirmed that it showed a very effective liver protection activity by showing a gain of 12.6%. The chronic alcoholic liver damage animal model demonstrated that ALT showed an improvement effect of 25%, and AST showed an effect similar to that of the positive control group, Hovenia extract. In addition, through H&E staining analysis, observed that the ALPOC improved the necrosis and bleeding of the liver. And the ALPOC group showed intense antioxidant activity of 127% or more compared to the alcohol intake group, and this was confirmed to have a very high activity, which is more than 20% higher than that of the hovenia fruit extract.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.105-115
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• 2015

Background: Alcoholic steatosis is the earliest and most common liver disease, and may precede the onset of more severe forms of liver injury. Methods: The effect of Korean Red Ginseng extract (RGE) was tested in two murine models of ethanol (EtOH)-feeding and EtOH-treated hepatocytes. Results: Blood biochemistry analysis demonstrated that RGE treatment improved liver function. Histopathology and measurement of hepatic triglyceride content verified the ability of RGE to inhibit fat accumulation. Consistent with this, RGE administration downregulated hepatic lipogenic gene induction and restored hepatic lipolytic gene repression by EtOH. The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver diseases is well established. Treatment with RGE attenuated EtOH-induced cytochrome P450 2E1, 4-hydroxynonenal, and nitrotyrosine levels. Alcohol consumption also decreased phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, which was restored by RGE. Moreover, RGE markedly inhibited fat accumulation in EtOH-treated hepatocytes, which correlated with a decrease in sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 and a commensurate increase in sirtuin 1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-a expression. Interestingly, the ginsenosides Rb2 and Rd, but not Rb1, significantly inhibited fat accumulation in hepatocytes. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that RGE and its ginsenoside components inhibit alcoholic steatosis and liver injury by adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase/sirtuin 1 activation both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that RGE may have a potential to treat alcoholic liver disease.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2013

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. Obesity can cause hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Many environmental or genetic factors have been suggested to contribute to the development of obesity, but there is no satisfactory explanation for its increased prevalence. This review discusses the latest updates on the role of the gut microbiota in obesity and NAFLD.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.470-478
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• 2019

Purpose: The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children is gradually increasing. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of serum adiponectin and soluble adiponectin receptor 2 (soluble Adipo R2) levels for the diagnosis of fatty liver disease in obese and overweight children. Methods: The study included 51 obese and overweight children between the ages of 6 and 18 years diagnosed with NAFLD using ultrasonography and 20 children without fatty liver disease. Patients whose alanine transaminase level was two times higher than normal (${\geq}80U/L$) were included in the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) group. Results: NASH was observed in 11 (21.6%) of the patients with NAFLD. The incidence of obesity was higher in patients with NASH (80% and 45%, p=0.021). While the adiponectin levels were similar in patients with NAFLD and those without, they were below the normal level in the whole study group. Adiponectin and soluble Adipo R2 levels of patients with NASH were lower than those in patients without NASH; however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.064 and p=0.463). Soluble Adipo R2 levels in obese patients with NAFLD were higher than those in obese children without NAFLD (p<0.001). Conclusion: Soluble adiponectin receptor 2 level is a noninvasive marker that can be used for the diagnosis of NAFLD in obese children.

• Journal of Korea Association of Health Promotion
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.121-136
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• 2005

Background/Aims The liver funtion tests(LFTs), such as aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine amino-transferase(ALT), r -glutamyl transferase( r -GT), have been widely used for screening tests but their low positive predictive value can cause many false positive results. To evaluate the clinical usefulness of these tests, we analyzed serial LFT results of single factory workers and compared the risk factor's in groups divided by the serial LFT results. Methods From June 2001 to October 2001, 1223 consecutive healthy workers in a single factory were enrolled and questionnaire, LFT and liver ultrasonography were performed. Previous LFT results were collected from Annual Health Examination Survey. According to the abnormalities in serial LFT, participants were classified into three groups (abnormal-in-both, alternating normal-in-both) and the risk factors were compared among these groups using multiple logistic regression Results The prevalence of LFT abnormality in a single test was 16.8% but, in serial LFT, only 5% of participants showed consistent abnormality. The risk factors for abnormal-in-both group, compared with alternating group, were liver ultrasonography abnormality such as fatty liver(odds ratio, 2.2; p=0.026) and heavy alcohol intake (more than 210g/week) (odds ratio, 7.2;P=0.064). HBsAg was not significant risk factor for any of the three groups. ConclusionIn factory workers with serial LFT abnormality, alcoholic liver disease could be the principal cause of abnormal LFT. Even if HBsAg were positive in patients with abnormal LFT, there is a possibility of another causes for LFT abnormalities such as alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic steatosis or steatohepatitis

• Korean Journal of Transplantation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.193-199
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• 2017

Background: Although there more than 1,000 liver transplantations (LTs) are performed in Korea annually, their immense cost remains a great hurdle. Hence, in an attempt to reduce the medical costs of LT, a program was initiated at a public hospital affiliated with the Seoul National University Hospital. Methods: A total of 11 LTs have been successfully executed since the first LT performed at Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center in July 2011 through December 2014. Results: Nine patients (81.8%) were male and two (18.2%) were female. The mean age of patients was 53.4±11.4 years. Hepatitis B virus-related liver disease (n=6, 54.5%) was the most common causative disease, followed by alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (n=4, 36.4%). The actuarial 3-year survival rate was 90.9%. The median total medical cost of LTs was US $41,583 (calculated from operation to discharge), but only $11,860 was actually charged for patients with health insurance coverage. One female patient who had undergone deceased donor LT for alcoholic liver cirrhosis died during follow-up. This patient was non-compliant with the medical instructions after discharge, and finally expired due to septic shock at 10 months post-LT. Conclusions: In the public hospital, LT was successfully performed at a much lower cost. However, LT guidelines and peritransplant management protocols for patients with ALD must be established before escalating LT at public hospitals since ALD with poor compliance is one of the most common causes of complications at public hospitals.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.458-477
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the trend in the research on alcoholic liver disease (ALD) using Korean traditional medicine. Methods: This review was conducted using six electronic databases (NDSL, KMBASE, Koreantk, KISS, KISTI, and KoreaMed) with no restrictions in year. The search terms were "alcoholic liver disease", "alcoholic fatty liver", "alcoholic hepatitis", "alcoholic cirrhosis", "herbal medicine", "acupuncture" and "traditional medicine". The searched studies were analyzed according to the type of research. Results: After screening, 37 studies were selected among 552. The types of studies were as follows: 8 in vivo studies, 17 case reports, 7 case series, 1 assessment scale study, 1 randomized controlled trial, and 3 research reviews. The in vivo studies reported the efficacy and its mechanism in the animal phase of single or complex herbal medicine. In the clinical research, interventions such as herbal medicine and acupuncture were most commonly used for ALD treatment. Conclusions: We analyzed the trends in ALD treatment using Korean traditional medicine through this review. The results showed that Korean traditional medicine could be an effective method for ALD treatment. Conducting related in-depth studies, such as well-designed randomized controlled trial based on the results of experimental research, is necessary.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.949-957
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to report a case of alcoholic liver disease with jaundice that was improved with Korean medicine treatment. Methods: A patient who developed jaundice due to continuous drinking was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping. Blood tests were performed to measure the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP), total bilirubin, albumin, and total protein; AST/ALT ratio; and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Jaundice parameters were subjectively recorded at 3-day intervals. Results: After treatment, the AST, ALT, ALP, γ-GTP, and total bilirubin levels; MCV; and jaundice were decreased. Conclusion: Korean medicine treatment appeared to be an effective method for alcoholic liver disease with jaundice.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2008

Chronic exposure to ethanol induces cumulative damage to the liver starting from fatty infiltration to cirrhosis depending on the dose and duration of exposure. The whole process leading to the development of alcoholic liver disease is very complex and the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Among many experimental animal models, Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet provides moderate to severe pathophysiological outcome depending on the compositional changes. In the present study, we investigated the temporal changes in the early phase hepatic disease in rats fed with standard Lieber-DeCarli diet. Male Wistar rats were fed with Lieber-Decarli ethanol diet for 6 weeks and the liver samples were obtained after 2, 4 and 6 weeks. Mild fatty infiltration was observed in 2 weeks of feeding and it became evident in 4 and 6 week samples. The level of hepatic triglyceride showed a good agreement with the data obtained in the pathological analysis. Feeding mice with ethanol diet resulted in the maturation and translocation of SREBP-1 to nucleus in the liver. Western blot analysis of the pooled liver sample of control and ethanol fed animals showed a clear-cut time-dependent increase in the expression of nSREBP-1. These data provide important information for selecting proper time point in experimental intervention study in the field of drug development for alcoholic liver disease.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2021.04a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2021

Alcoholic and nonalcoholic steaohepatitis is a leading form of chronic liver disease with few biomakers ad treatment options currently available. a progressive disease of NAFLD may lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, we extracted HIMH0021, which is an active flavonoid component in the Acer tegmentosum extract, has been shown to protect against liver damage caused by hepatic dysfunction. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate whether HIMH0021 could regulate steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis during alcoholic or nonalcoholic metabolic process. HIMH0021, which was isolated from the active methanol extract of A. tegmentosum, inhibited alcohol-induced steatosis and attenuated the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) during hepatocellular alcohol metabolism, both of which promote lipogenesis as well as liver inflammation. Treatment with HIMH0021 conferred protection against lipogenesis and liver injury, inhibited the expression of cytochrome P4502E1, and increased serum adiponectin levels in the mice subjected to chronic-plus-binge feeding. Furthermore, in hepatocytes, HIMH0021 activated fatty acid oxidation by activating pAMPK, which comprises pACC and CPT1a. These findings suggested that HIMH0021 could be used to target a TNFα-related pathway for treating patients with alcoholic hepatitis.