Protective Mechanism of Edible Food Plants against Alcoholic Liver Disease with Special Mention to Polyphenolic Compounds

Abstract

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one type of liver disease, causing a global healthcare problem and mortality. The liver undergoes tissue damage by chronic alcohol consumption because it is the main site for metabolism of ethanol. Chronic alcohol exposure progresses from alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) to alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), which further lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular cancer. Therapeutic interventions to combat ALD are very limited such as use of corticosteroids. However, these therapeutic drugs are not effective for long-term usage. Therefore, additional effective and safe therapies to cope with ALD are urgently needed. Previous studies confirmed that edible food plants and their bioactive compounds exert a protective effect against ALD. In this review article, we summarized the hepatoprotective potential of edible food plants and their bioactive compounds. The underlying mechanism for the prevention of ALD by edible food plants was as follows: anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, lipid regulation, inhibition of apoptosis, gut microbiota composition modulation, and anti-fibrosis.

Protective Effects of Ellagic Acid Against Alcoholic Liver Disease in Mice

“…Interestingly, the administration of ellagic acid markedly improved histopathological features of ALD mice. These results were consistent with the previous reports of bioactive compounds protecting the liver from the toxic effects of alcohol ( 18 – 20 , 43 , 44 , 49 ).…”

“…In the present study, we noticed that the consumption of alcohol markedly raised the serum TG level, and activities of ALT and AST, which clearly indicated the occurrence of hepatic injury caused by alcohol. However, the ellagic acid supplementation (at the dosage of 50 and 100 mg/kg bw) significantly alleviated lipid metabolism disorder and hepatocyte integrity in ALD mice, which is correlated with many previous reports in the same animal model ( 18 , 37 – 39 , 42 – 44 ).…”

“…and bioactive compounds (apigenin, quercetin, naringenin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, and platycodin D, etc.) could attenuate ALD via multiple pathways ( 18 – 20 , 22 , 35 – 39 ). Based on the broad spectrum of antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects of ellagic acid, the present study was designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of ellagic acid against ALD.…”

“…Interestingly, ellagic acid administration (EL and EH) could reduce the inflammatory factors in the hepatic tissues of ALD mice. Similarly, intervention with bioactive compounds and natural products could also reduce the inflammatory responses associated with acute alcoholic liver injury ( 18 – 20 , 32 , 35 , 48 ).…”

“…The use of natural products and nutritional agents attracts attention for the treatment of ALD due to their broad spectrum of antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties (5). Polyphenolic compounds have been reported to exert beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of ALD (18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Ellagic acid is a natural polyphenol that belongs to the tannic acid group and is abundantly present in many medicinal plants, fruits, fruits peel of berries and nuts, possessing antiinflammatory, antiapoptotic and antioxidant effects (23)(24)(25)(26).…”