Fermented barley extract supplementation maintained antioxidative defense suppressing lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory liver injury in rats.

Utilizing phytochemicals in treating inflammation is becoming a viable alternative to pharmacological treatment. We have reported that fermented barley extract (FBE) effectively suppresses oxidative stress in chronically ethanol-fed rats. Here we report that FBE suppressed acute increases in oxidative stress as a response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. Rats supplemented with FBE for 10 d showed decreases in plasma interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α by 25%, 34%, and 35% respectively after LPS challenge. Liver damage was significantly suppressed, as marked by a 44% decrease in plasma alanine aminotransferase. FBE supplementation sustained liver anti-oxidative enzymes, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, at transcriptional and enzymatic levels, thus suppressing oxidative stress markers such as plasma nitric oxide and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, by 42% and 23% respectively. We concluded that active compounds in FBE effectively inhibited the propagation of inflammation by suppressing oxidative stress.