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Goji Ferment Ameliorated Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury in vitro and in vivo

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of lyophilized powder of goji ferment (LPGF) against acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatic damage in Hep3B cells and in mice. Eleven strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were selected and their hepatoprotection against APAP-induced cellular damage in Hep3B cell line was evaluated. Four strains of LAB, including BCRC11652 (Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides), BCRC14619 (Lactobacillus gasseri), KODA-1 (Pediococcus acidilactici), and KODA-2 (Limosilactobacillus fermentum), have hepatoprotective potential against APAP in vitro. Goji significantly stimulated the growth of individual and combined strains of LAB and the optimal fermented condition was the treatment of goji at 10% (w/w) for 24 h. The prepared lyophilized powder of goji ferment (LPGF) containing fifteen combinations of LAB strains was used to explore their hepatoprotection in vitro. LPGF containing all combinations of LAB strains, except for KODA-2, significantly restored APAP-reduced cell viability and improved APAP-increased cellular levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). In mice model, LPGF containing BCRC11652, BCRC14619, and KODA-2 was chosen to evaluate its hepatoprotection against APAP-induced liver injury. LPGF at diverse doses have a tendency but no significant improvement on APAP-reduced body weight gain and liver weight. LPGF significantly decreased APAP-increased serum ALT and AST levels in a dose-dependent manner. At the end of experiment, LPGF significantly and dose-dependently reversed APAP-reduced activities of GSH and antioxidant enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase in hepatic tissue. Overall, LPGF was demonstrated to exhibit hepatoprotection against APAP-induced liver injury in vitro and in vivo.

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Funding

This research was supported by E10700007131-335 from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ko Da Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Pingzhen Dist, No.20-1, Gongye 3rd Rd, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Chih-Min Yang, Mei-Yin Chien & Chao-Hsiang Chen

  2. Department of Nutrition, Master Program of Biomedical Nutrition, Hungkuang University, No. 1018 Sec. 6 Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung, 43302, Taiwan

    Li-Yu Wang & Cheng-Hung Chuang

  3. Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Li-Yu Wang

  4. Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chao-Hsiang Chen

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  1. Chih-Min Yang
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Contributions

Conceptualization, CH Chuang and CH Chen; Methodology, CM Yang, MY Chien, and LY Wang; Writing-original draft preparation, CM Yang, MY Chien, and LY Wang; Writing-review and editing, CH Chuang and CH Chen.

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Correspondence to Cheng-Hung Chuang or Chao-Hsiang Chen.

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This study protocol was approved by the Animal Research Committee of HungKuang University, Taichung, Taiwan and the committee’s reference number was HK-P-10701.

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Yang, CM., Chien, MY., Wang, LY. et al. Goji Ferment Ameliorated Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury in vitro and in vivo. Probiotics & Antimicro. Prot. 15, 1102–1112 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-022-09956-y

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