IL-1β levels of the liver tissue in the probiotics and KRG groups decreased compared with check details those in the alcohol group. These results

match those of earlier studies, in which Rg3, an ingredient of Panax ginseng active in neural stem cells, attenuated the upregulation of the LPS-induced IL-1β level [24]. In addition, ginsenoside Rd pretreatment attenuated the increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β and TNF-α) due to lead (Pb) exposure [25]. Another study demonstrated the efficacy of probiotics in lowering the heightened IL-1β level induced by Candida albicans infection in mice [26]. Assuming IL-1β to be a dangerous cytokine in the ALD inflammatory cascade, Lacidofil and

KRG may be hypothesized to have potent anti-ALD effects. We used a chronic ethanol feeding model (the NIAAA model for ALD). The 4–6-week Lieber–DeCarli diet containing ethanol has been widely used by many laboratories. However, this model induces only mild steatosis and elevates serum alanine aminotransferase slightly, with little or no liver inflammation [27]. In our study, in the Sorafenib price liver function test, there was no significant change as shown in the NIAAA model for ALD. The pathological findings of our study showed that alcohol-induced steatosis was significantly reduced by KRG and urushiol. In addition, two mice developed Grade 2 steatosis in the alcohol group and one in the KRG group. Therefore, it is supposed that KRG and urushiol can be used in the treatment of ALD, especially steatosis of liver. Of the agents that we evaluated, KRG was notably the

most effective in reducing the molecular markers that we assessed in mice. However, because the sample size was limited, serum levels of TLR-4, IL-1β, and TNF-α were not significantly ameliorated. Furthermore, injurious cytokines such as IL-6 were not assessed in this study. Therefore, additional clinical or animal model studies are needed. In conclusion, the current study suggests that KRG, urushiol, and probiotics have potential therapeutic effects, which (in the context of ALD) implicates immune-modulated cytokines in the TLR-4 pathway. All contributing authors declare no conflicts of interest. This research was supported Glycogen branching enzyme by a grant from the Korea Society of Ginseng (2011); the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (NRF-2010-0021482); Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ009859), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea; and Hallym University Research Fund. “
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