Chronic alcohol consumption causes
alcoholic liver disease, which is associated with the initiation of dysregulated lipid metabolism. Recent evidences suggest that dysregulated
cholesterol metabolism plays an important role in the pathogenesis of
alcoholic fatty liver disease. Ecklonia stolonifera (ES), a perennial brown marine alga that belongs to the family Laminariaceae, is rich in phlorotannins. Many studies have indicated that ES has extensive pharmacological effects, such as antioxidative, hepatoprotective, and antiinflammatory effects. However, only a few studies have investigated the protective effect of ES in
alcoholic fatty liver. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal diet (ND) (fed a normal diet for 10 weeks) and
ethanol diet (ED) groups. Rats in the ED group were fed a Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet (containing 5%
ethanol) for 10 weeks and administered ES extract (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg/day),
silymarin (100 mg/kg/day), or no treatment for 4 weeks. Each treatment group comprised of eight rats. The supplementation with ES resulted in decreased serum levels of
triglycerides (TGs), total
cholesterol,
alanine aminotransferase, and
aspartate aminotransferase. In addition, there were decreases in hepatic
lipid and
malondialdehyde levels. Changes in liver histology, as analyzed by
Oil Red O staining, showed that the ES treatment suppressed adipogenesis. In addition, the ES treatment increased the expression of
fatty acid oxidation-related genes (e.g.,
PPAR-α and
CPT-1) but decreased the expression of SREBP 1, which is a TG synthesis-related gene. These results suggest that ES extract may be useful in preventing
fatty acid oxidation and reducing lipogenesis in
ethanol-induced
fatty liver.