Much effort has been made to develop a reproducible and robust rodent model of alcohol-related liver disease in order to facilitate the study of the various factors involved in the initiation and progression of alcohol hepatotoxicity.1,2) Excessive intake of alcohol may severely damage such organs as liver and heart, resulting in dysfunction including derangement of blood pressure and triglyceride levels.3) There have been numerous attempts to develop clinically useful compounds to ameliorate or cure alcohol-related disorders. 4,5) However, it is well documented that these compounds may exhibit severe cytotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and other important side effects. Therefore, in order to find an alternative to the traditional cure, studies have increasingly focused on the development of therapeutic agents based on natural products and medicinal herbs.In this study, we investigated whether Saeng-Maek-San (SMS), a medicinal herb complex, protects rat hepatocytes from alcohol-induced damage, thereby resulting in protection from hangovers, cardiovascular symptoms and alcohol-induced hepatitis. 6) SMS is composed of Korean such medicinal herbs as Panax ginseng C. A. MEYER, Liriope platyphylla WANG et TANG, Schizandra chinensis BAILLON, Astragalus membranaceus BUNGE, and Cucurbita moschata DUCHESNE. 7)It is well known that the spectrum of alcoholic liver disease can be reproduced in a rat model utilizing an intragastric infusion of ethanol. 8,9) SMS was administered to rats treated with alcohol. The protective effect of SMS was examined by measuring the blood levels of the enzymes AST (asparate aminotransferase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) before and after SMS administration in alcohol-treated rats. Serum levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol, important causes of hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis, were also measured. The major finding of this paper is that SMS is hepatoprotective and ameliorates alcohol-mediated damage and alcohol-induced liver symptoms whilst concomitantly improving lipid metabolism. Additionally, we performed histopathological and hematological studies to investigate the protective effects of SMS. MATERIALS AND METHODS؉Preparation and Treatment of Saeng-Maek-San 1 (SMS1) and Saeng-Maek-San 2 (SMS2) Production of SMS1 and SMS2 was based on a recipe derived from Korean traditional medicine books and the recommendations of Korean traditional medical doctors. SMS1 and SMS2 are traditional Korean prescriptions containing a mixture of four (SMS1) or five (SMS2) herbs. SMS1 was made from the Korean medicinal herbs Panax ginseng C. A. MEYER, Liriope platyphylla WANG et TANG, Schizandra chinensis BAILLON and Astragalus membranaceus BUNGE, with the relative amounts of each herb in the preparation being 2 (24 g), 1 (12 g), 1 (12 g), and 2 (24 g), respectively. SMS2 was composed of SMS1 plus Cucurbita moschata DUCHESNE made up in a ratio of 2 (24 g), 1 (12 g), 1 (12 g), 2 (24 g), and 1 (12 g), respectively. Boiling water extracts of SMS1 and SMS2 were prepared from the dried herbs. Each vol...

Alcoholism is a social and economic problem that is global in scope. Alcohol is the most frequently abused drug throughout the world and has a long history of use. Alcoholism can also be considered one of the costliest diseases of the modern era in terms of life years lost, 1) even costlier than tobacco use. Alcohol-laden blood then travels to the liver via the veins and capillaries of the digestive tract, which affects nearly every liver cell. The liver cells are the only cells in the body that can produce sufficient amounts of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to oxidize alcohol at an appreciable rate.2)The impairment of bodily functions and the damage caused by the consumption of alcohol works mainly in two ways: 1) indirectly, by interfering with the body's normal processing of food, thereby causing malnutrition; and 2) through direct toxic effects causing organ pathology, the effects of which focus particularly upon the liver.3) The liver is the body's largest internal organ. The functions of the liver (filtration of circulating blood, removal and breakdown of toxic substances) are essential to life and play a critical role in the body's metabolic processes.4) Ameliorating the effects of long-term alcohol consumption has long been a focus for many researchers and clinicians. There have been various efforts to develop compounds to ameliorate or treat alcohol-related pathology 5-7) however, these chemically derived compounds can have harmful and unforeseen side effects. Therefore there has been a focus on natural or herbal treatments for alcohol-induced diseases. There are a number of studies that have researched the nutritional and physiologic benefits of the soybean. Soybeans are a good source of carbohydrates, fat, protein, fiber, and calcium, making them a nutritionally valuable food source. Recently, the FDA has accepted the health claim that soy protein helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels, further highlighting the importance of the soybean. The nutritional, economic, and health benefits of this legume make it an important focus for future research. Besides the general positive nutritional factors, various compounds of the soybean are being researched for their beneficial effects. Those most relevant to this study are the lowering of serum cholesterol levels, protection of hepatocyte membranes and structures, amelioration of nutritional deficiencies (focused in the liver), and the prevention and/or breakdown of hepatic fibrosis. A meta-analysis of 38 studies on human subjects confirmed this line of thought. Lovati found that the ingestion of diets containing the soy protein was associated with significant reductions in serum concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides, accompanied by a non-significant increase in serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations. 8)Dietary supplementation with soy phospholipids may also help patients with liver disease, alcoholism, or chronic parenteral nutrition to reduce their risk of linoleic acid (LA) deficiency. Phosph...

To examine the effect of saltwort (Salicornia herbacea) on blood cholesterol and lipid metabolism, hyperlipidemia was induced in animal rats. Saltwort extract was then administered to the rats for 5 weeks, after which, blood biochemical changes were determined. Saltwort treatment resulted in a significant reduction of the levels of total cholesterol, blood triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol. In contrast, the expression levels of HDL-cholesterol were increased at saltwort treatment group. The aspartate aminotransferase (AST: serum SGOT) value of the saltwort administration group was significantly reduced and the blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT: serum SGPT) levels decreased significantly in comparison to those in the negative control group. Degeneration of hepatic tissues due to the consumption of a high lipid diet for a long period of time was reported in the negative control group. On the other hand, in the saltwort administration group, a substantial reduction in the accumulation of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm was seen, and in addition, it was confirmed that the degeneration of hepatic tissues recovered almost to level of that of the normal control group. These data suggest that saltwort extract represents an excellent candidate for protection of rat hepatocytes from high fat diet-mediated damage.

Methanol extracts from 101 Korean medicinal plants were tested for inhibitory activity against influenza virus type A by means of a modified haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. MM-57, MM-72, MM-104 and MM-110, four of 101 extracts tested exhibited strong anti-influenza virus type A activity at concentration ranges of 0.78-6.25 mg/mL, 0.78-3.13 mg/mL, 0.78-1.56 mg/mL and 0.0975-0.39 mg/mL, respectively. The extracts MM-57, MM-72 and MM-110 showed very strong anti-influenza virus type A activity in the range 1.56-6.25 mg/mL, 1.56-3.13 mg/mL and 195-390 micro g/mL, respectively. The four methanol extracts were weakly cytotoxic to red blood cells. These results demonstrated that four methanol extracts of Korean medicinal plants exhibit strong anti-influenza virus type A activity, and weak cytotoxic effects. They may inhibit attachment of the virus to the cell and may therefore be used for prophylaxis.

No abstract