Effects of 20 Selected Fruits on Ethanol Metabolism: Potential Health Benefits and Harmful Impacts

Abstract

The consumption of alcohol is often accompanied by other foods, such as fruits and vegetables. This study is aimed to investigate the effects of 20 selected fruits on ethanol metabolism to find out their potential health benefits and harmful impacts. The effects of the fruits on ethanol metabolism were characterized by the concentrations of ethanol and acetaldehyde in blood, as well as activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in liver of mice. Furthermore, potential health benefits and harmful impacts of the fruits were evaluated by biochemical parameters including aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase. Generally, effects of these fruits on ethanol metabolism were very different. Some fruits (such as Citrus limon (yellow), Averrhoa carambola, Pyrus spp., and Syzygium samarangense) could decrease the concentration of ethanol in blood. In addition, several fruits (such as Cucumis melo) showed hepatoprotective effects by significantly decreasing AST or ALT level in blood, while some fruits (such as Averrhoa carambola) showed adverse effects. The results suggested that the consumption of alcohol should not be accompanied by some fruits, and several fruits could be developed as functional foods for the prevention and treatment of hangover and alcohol use disorder.

Hepatoprotective Effects of a Proprietary Glycyrrhizin Product during Alcohol Consumption: A Randomized, Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled, Crossover Study

“…), Ohwi (kudzu), Hovenia dulcis Thunb., and Diospyros kaki L. provided hepatoprotective effects against alcohol. In a recent study (Zhang et al ., ), consumption of juices from fruits of Averrhoa carambola Linn., Citrus limon L. (yellow), and Musa nana Lour. was shown to prevent alcohol‐induced elevations of AST in mice, therefore offering hepatoprotection.…”

Effects of Food Processing on In Vivo Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Properties of Green Tea Extracts

“…In order to control potential oxidation of the sample, the low temperature condition was adopted. That is, the 10% (w/v) liver homogenate was prepared by mixing the liver and ice-cold 0.9% normal saline solution in a glass tube that was put in the ice box and the liver was grinded with a glass grinder [29,72,73]. The homogenate of liver was centrifuged at 2500× g for 10 min to obtain the supernatant which was used for the biochemical assays.…”

“…The determination of SOD, CAT, GSH, MDA, TG, and total protein followed the instructions of the Nanjing Jiancheng commercial kits produced by Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China [29,[72][73][74][75][76]. (1) Determination of SOD activity: the xanthine and xanthine oxidase reacted to produce superoxide radicals.…”

Natural Products for Prevention and Treatment of Chemical‐Induced Liver Injuries

“…Besides the genetic factors, the underlying mechanisms of alcohol‐induced liver injury (ALI) have been widely studied and the recent advances in this field mainly focus on the alcohol‐induced oxidative stress, inflammation, metabolism disorders, apoptosis, necrosis, gut‐driven bacteria, and endotoxin actions, which may occur interactively and play a vital role in the prognosis of alcoholic‐induced liver diseases (Gao & Bataller, ; Lucey, Mathurin, & Morgan, ; Zeng & Xie, ). Therefore, natural products that can act on the involved enzymes/proteins or modulate the related genes could potentially add value to preventing or treating ALI (Meng et al., ; Wang et al., , ; Zhang et al., , ). A variety of natural product extracts or their bioactive components have been investigated, and some foods and medicinal herbs have shown hepatoprotective effects on liver injuries caused by alcohol (Table ), which could be very promising to block or delay further pathological processes of alcohol‐induced diseases.…”