Antioxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of ZS62 on Alcohol-Induced Subacute Hepatic Damage.

ZS62 is a newly isolated strain from naturally fermented yogurt that might offer some beneficial effects in the setting of alcohol-induced subacute liver injury. The liver-protective effect of ZS62 was investigated by gavage feeding of mice with this strain (1 × 10 CFU/kg ) before alcohol administration daily for 7 days. We then compared hepatic morphology, liver function indexes, liver lipid levels, inflammation, oxidative stress levels, and mRNA expression of oxidative metabolism- and inflammation-related genes in mice that had been pretreated with versus control mice that had not been pretreated. Our results showed that ZS62 attenuated alcohol-induced weight loss; prevented morphological changes in hepatocytes; reduced markers of liver damage including aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), hyaluronidase (HAase), precollagen III (PC III), and inflammatory cytokines; and enhanced the antioxidative status. ZS62 also significantly downregulated inflammation-related genes and upregulated lipid- and oxidative-metabolism genes. Thus, pretreatment appears to confer hepatic protection by reducing inflammation and enhancing antioxidative capacity. The protective effect of ZS62 was even better than that of a commonly used commercial lactic acid bacteria ( subsp. ). The ZS62 might be a potentially beneficial prophylactic treatment for people who frequently drink alcoholic beverages.