<i>Lactobacillus fermentum</i> KP-3-fermented ginseng ameliorates alcohol-induced liver disease in C57BL/6N mice through the AMPK and MAPK pathways
Ying You, Yanlong Liu, Zhiyi Ai, Yushan Wang, Yushan Wang, Junmei Liu, Chunhong Piao, Yuhua Wang, Yuhua Wang
Abstract
Panax ginseng was fermented using Lactobacillus fermentum KP-3, and the levels of the minor ginsenosides were measured. Then, the effect of fermented ginseng on alcohol-induced liver injury was investigated. C57BL/6N mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups: pair fed (PF), alcohol fed (AF), alcohol with non-fermented ginseng (AF + NFG) and alcohol with fermented ginseng (AF + FG) groups. After treatment for 8 weeks, fermented ginseng intervention significantly reduced the levels of serum ALT, AST, LPS, TG and TC compared with the AF group. The western-blotting results showed that fermented ginseng activated the adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway to inhibit de novo lipogenesis in the liver and inhibited phosphorylation of p38 through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway to alleviate hepatic inflammation, and these effects were superior than those of non-fermented ginseng. Furthermore, fermented ginseng reduced alcohol-induced liver oxidative damage by upregulating the levels of antioxidant enzymes. These findings suggested that the L. fermentum KP-3-fermented ginseng product may be used as a potential dietary nutraceutical for alleviating alcoholic liver injury.