Oral intake of chicoric acid reduces acute alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis in mice

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Vol. 30; no. 7; pp. 882 - 889
• Main Authors: Landmann, Marianne, Kanuri, Giridhar, Spruss, Astrid, Stahl, Carolin, Bergheim, Ina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.07.2014; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Acids; Administration, Oral; Alcohol; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Caffeic Acids - pharmacology; Caffeic Acids - therapeutic use; Chicoric acid; Cichorium intybus - chemistry; Disease; Drinking water; Echinacea - chemistry; Endotoxin; Ethanol; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic - drug therapy; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic - metabolism; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; In Vitro Techniques; Kupffer Cells - drug effects; Kupffer Cells - metabolism; Laboratory animals; Lipopolysaccharides; Liver - drug effects; Liver - metabolism; Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas; Medical sciences; Metabolites; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II - genetics; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II - metabolism; Other diseases. Semiology; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 - metabolism; Proteins; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Rodents; Steatosis; Studies; Succinates - pharmacology; Succinates - therapeutic use; Triglycerides - metabolism; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - genetics; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Germany; Alcohol; Chicoric acid; Endotoxin; Steatosis; Nutrition; Acute; Rodentia; Oral administration; Hepatic disease; Toxin; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Fatty liver; Mouse; Animal; Digestive diseases
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2013.11.015

Abstract Objective Acute and chronic consumption of alcohol can alter intestinal barrier function thereby increasing portal endotoxin levels subsequently leading to an activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4-dependent signaling cascades, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and induction of tumor necrosis factor α in the liver. Recent studies suggest that chicoric acid found in Echinacea pupurea , chicory, and other plants, may possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of the present study was to determine if chicoric acid can reduce acute alcohol-induced liver damage. Methods Female mice were given chicoric acid orally (4 mg/kg body weight) for 4 d before acute ethanol administration (6 g/kg body weight). Furthermore, the effect of chicoric acid on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-dependent activation in an in vitro model of Kupffer cells (RAW264.7 macrophages) was assessed. Results Acute alcohol ingestion caused a significant increase in hepatic triacylglycerols accumulation, which was associated with increased protein levels of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), 4-hydroxynonenal protein adducts, and active plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 protein in the liver. Pretreatment of animals with chicoric acid significantly attenuated these effects of alcohol on the liver. In LPS-treated RAW264.7 macrophages, pretreatment with chicoric acid significantly suppressed LPS-induced mRNA expression of iNOS and tumor necrosis factor α. Conclusion These data suggest that chicoric acid may reduce acute alcohol-induced steatosis in mice through interfering with the induction of iNOS and iNOS-dependent signaling cascades in the liver.