Abstract
Liver disease has been increased in proportion to the rise of alcohol and fat consumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Natural Product Extract (NPE; Astragalus membranaceus + Salvia miltiorrhiza + Pueraria lobata) on fatty liver induced by alcohol diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats fed with ethanol-containing diets for 6 weeks showed increase in hepatic lipids, indicating the onset of alcoholic fatty liver. NPE was orally administered (3 g/kg/day, 1 g/kg/day, 0.33 g/kg/day) for 4 weeks following alcohol withdrawal, results revealed reduction in alcohol-induced lipid accumulation and reversed fatty liver. This inhibition of fatty liver by NPE was indirectly accompanied by recovery of hepatic lipase activity. The activity of plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly increased in alcohol fed group, and decreased in NPE treated group. We can conclude from our experiment, NPE can reduce the serum and hepatic contents of triglycerides and cholesterol, which can be used as a remedy for alcoholic fatty liver.
