Medium chain triglycerides and vitamin E reduce the severity of established experimental alcoholic liver disease.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine if medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and vitamin E could reduce lipid peroxidation and reverse alcoholic liver injury in rats.
Results Summary
MCTs combined with dextrose nearly normalized liver histology, reduced lipid peroxidation, and decreased cytochrome P450 2E1 activity, outperforming both the control and vitamin E groups. Vitamin E also showed moderate improvement, but MCTs were most effective in reversing liver injury.
Population
Male Wistar rats with induced alcoholic liver injury.
Effective Dosage
Not specified.
Duration
2 weeks (after 6 weeks of initial liver injury induction).
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
fish oil-ethanol diet | increase | fatty liver, inflammation and necrosis | male Wistar rats | - | developed | #1 |
fish oil-dextrose diet | decrease | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | minimal | minimal histologic improvement | #2 |
fish oil-dextrose plus vitamin E diet | decrease | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | moderate | moderate improvement | #3 |
medium chain triglycerides-dextrose diet | decrease | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | near normalization | near normalization of the histology | #4 |
medium chain triglycerides-dextrose diet | decrease | lipid peroxidation | male Wistar rats | - | decreased | #5 |
medium chain triglycerides-dextrose diet | decrease | cytochrome P450 2E1 activity | male Wistar rats | - | decreased | #6 |
fish oil-dextrose diet | increase | polyunsaturated fatty acids | male Wistar rats | - | higher levels | #7 |
fish oil-dextrose plus vitamin E diet | increase | polyunsaturated fatty acids | male Wistar rats | - | higher levels | #8 |
diet enriched in saturated fatty acids | decrease | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | - | effectively reverses | #9 |
diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids | no change | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | - | not effectively reverses | #10 |
vitamin E | decrease | alcoholic liver injury | male Wistar rats | - | led to histologic improvement | #11 |
medium chain triglycerides | decrease | lipid peroxidation | - | - | down-regulation | #12 |
Lipid peroxidation may be important in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver injury. We investigated the potential of medium chain triglycerides and vitamin E to decrease lipid peroxidation and reverse established alcoholic liver injury. Four groups (five rats/group) of male Wistar rats were studied. Rats in group 1 were fed a fish oil-ethanol diet for 6 weeks. Rats in groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed the fish oil-ethanol diet for 6 weeks before being switched to fish oil-dextrose (group 2), fish oil-dextrose plus vitamin E (group 3) or medium chain triglycerides-dextrose (group 4) diets for 2 weeks. Liver samples were analyzed for histopathology, lipid peroxidation, fatty acid composition and cytochrome P450 2E1 activity. By 6 weeks, all rats developed fatty liver, inflammation and necrosis. After switching to the dextrose-containing diets, there was minimal histologic improvement in group 2, moderate improvement in group 3 and near normalization of the histology in group 4. Histologic improvement was associated with decreased lipid peroxidation and cytochrome P450 2E1 activity. Higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were seen in groups 2 and 3 than in group 4. Our results indicate that a diet enriched in saturated (group 4) but not polyunsaturated (group 2) fatty acids effectively reverses alcoholic liver injury. Treatment with vitamin E also led to histologic improvement. These effects may be explained, at least in part, by down-regulation of lipid peroxidation. Other effects of medium chain triglycerides, such as their propensity for oxidation rather than esterification, may also be important.