Effects of Korean Red Ginseng (Panax ginseng), urushiol (Rhus vernicifera Stokes), and probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and Lactobacillus acidophilus R0052) on the gut-liver axis of alcoholic liver disease – Accepted Manuscript

Abstract: The roles of immune reaction and toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) have been widely established in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We evaluated the biologic efficacy of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG), urushiol, and probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and Lactobacillus acidophilus R0052) in mouse models of ALD. Sixty C57BL/6 mice were equally divided into 6 feeding groups for 10 weeks: normal diet, alcohol, control, alcohol+KRG, alcohol+urushiol, and alcohol+probiotics. Alcohol was administered via a Lieber–DeCarli liquid diet with 10% alcohol. TLR-4 expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and histology as well as the results of liver function tests were evaluated and compared. No between-group differences were observed with regard to liver function. TLR-4 levels were significantly lower in the KRG, urushiol, and probiotics groups than in the alcohol group (0.37±0.06, 0.39±0.12, and 0.33±0.07, respectively vs. 0.88±0.31 ng/ml, p