Background: D-galactosamine together with lipopolysaccharide can lead to a pronounced secretion by Kupffer cells of pro-inflammatory mediators, which have been shown to be early and important mediators of liver injury. Probiotics and dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts with high content of antioxidants, such as blueberry, could be beneficial in protecting against hepatotoxicity.
Aims: To investigate whether blueberry and probiotics could attenuate liver injury induced by D-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide.
Subjects: Sprague-Dawley rats were used.
Methods: Six experimental groups: acute liver injury control and five groups of liver injury treated by blueberry alone or by each of the probiotics strains (Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 15313 and Bifidobacterium infantis DSM 15159) with and without blueberry. Samples were collected 24 h after induction for bacterial test, liver function test, short chain fatty acids, myeloperoxidase, cytokines, malondialdehyde and glutathione.
Results: Alanine aminotransferase levels decreased significantly in all groups compared to liver injury control and DSM 15313 groups. Bilirubin, liver TNF-alpha, myeloperoxidase and acetic acid in cecum content decreased significantly in all groups, while liver glutathione values increased significantly in all groups compared to liver injury control. Liver IL-1beta and bacterial translocation to the liver and mesenteric lymph nodes decreased significantly in all groups except B. infantis DSM 15159 group compared to the liver injury control. Enterobacteriaceae count in cecum decreased significantly in the groups with blueberry plus probiotics compared to the other groups.
Conclusion: Blueberry and probiotics exert protective effects on acute liver injury. They reduce the hepatocytes injury, the inflammation and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and improve the barrier functions and antioxidant activity.