Persimmon vinegar and its fractions protect against alcohol-induced hepatic injury in rats through the suppression of CYP2E1 expression

Context: Medical therapies for alcohol-induced liver disease are often difficult to handle and limited in efficacy.Objective: In an attempt to find natural therapeutics, here, we investigate the preventive effect of persimmon vinegar (PV) and its fractions against alcohol-induced hepatic injury, in addition to the underlying mechanism, in rats chronically administered with alcohol.Materials and methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomized into five groups (n = 8 per group); normal control (NC), ethanol control (EC), ethanol + PV, ethanol + water-insoluble PV fraction (PI) and ethanol + water-soluble PV fraction (PS). PV, PI or PS was orally administrated at the level of 100 mg/kg B.W by oral gavage every day for 4 weeks prior to ethanol administration. The liver sections were stained with hematoxylin & eosin and gene expression was assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results: After a 4-week treatment, histological observation revealed that PV and its fractions mitigated alcohol-induced changes in the liver. CYP2E1 expression was significantly increased in the EC group compared with the NC group, but was significantly suppressed in the PV group compared with the EC group (p = 0.044). We also found significant decreases in hepatic mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-12β, toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in the PV-, PI- and PS-treated groups compared with those of the EC group.Discussion and conclusion: Taken together, the present findings suggest that PV and its fractions hold great promise as natural remedies with anti-inflammatory activities that alleviate alcohol-induced liver damage.