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Kombucha tea prevents obese mice from developing hepatic steatosis and liver damage

Food Science and Biotechnology volume 25, pages 861–866 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with the increased accumulation of hepatocellular lipids. Although Kombucha tea (KT) has emerged as a substance protecting the liver from damage, the effects of KT in NAFLD remain unclear. Hence, we investigated whether KT influenced hepatic steatosis. Db/db mice were fed either control or methionine/choline-deficient (MCD) diets for 4 weeks. The MCD diet group was treated with KT or water for 3 weeks. KT treatment alleviated macrovesicular steatosis compared to the MCD-fed group. The levels of triglyceride, ALT, and AST also decreased in the KT+MCD-treated db/db mice. RNA expression in the MCD+KT group showed reduced triglyceride synthesis and uptake of fatty acids. Immunostaining and western blot assays for active caspase-3 demonstrated a lower level of apoptosis in the MCD+KT than in the MCD group. These results demonstrate that KT attenuated lipid accumulation and protected the liver from damage, promoting liver restoration in mice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Pusan National University, Pusan, 46241, Korea

    Jinnyun Kim, JaeHo Cha & Young-Su Seo

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Pusan, 46241, Korea

    Jeongeun Hyun, Youngjae Lee, Sihyung Wang, Jieun Kim & Youngmi Jung

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  1. Jeongeun Hyun
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  3. Sihyung Wang
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Correspondence to Youngmi Jung.

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Hyun, J., Lee, Y., Wang, S. et al. Kombucha tea prevents obese mice from developing hepatic steatosis and liver damage. Food Sci Biotechnol 25, 861–866 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-016-0142-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-016-0142-3

Keywords

  • Kombucha tea
  • nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
  • liver protection
  • db/db mouse